Shloka 3
Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)
त्वमल्पबुद्धया नृपते प्राणानुत्स्रष्टमर्हसि । अथवाप्यवगच्छामि न वृद्धा: सेवितास्त्वया
tvam alpabuddhyā nṛpate prāṇān utsraṣṭum arhasi | athavāpy avagacchāmi na vṛddhāḥ sevitās tvayā, nareśvara |
त्वमल्पबुद्ध्या नृपते प्राणानुत्स्रष्टुमर्हसि । अथवाप्यवगच्छामि न वृद्धाः सेवितास्त्वया ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king should not abandon life out of confused or immature thinking; wise conduct is shaped by seeking the guidance and example of elders. The verse frames self-destruction as a failure of discernment and of proper mentorship.
Vaiśampāyana rebukes a king who is inclined to give up his life, attributing this impulse to ‘small-minded’ judgment and suggesting that the king’s lack of association with elders has left him without stabilizing counsel.