Shloka 20

Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

सहस्रमृषयो यस्य नित्यमासन्‌ सभासद: । तपःश्रुतोपसम्पन्ना: सर्वकामैरुपस्थिता:

Transliteration

sahasramṛṣayo yasya nityam āsan sabhāsadaḥ | tapaḥśrutopasampannāḥ sarvakāmair upasthitāḥ ||

Translation

ఆయన సభలో నిత్యం వెయ్యిమంది ఋషులు సభాసదులుగా కూర్చుండిరి—తపస్సు, వేదశ్రుతి జ్ఞానములతో సంపన్నులై—సర్వ అవసర సేవాసామగ్రితో ఉపస్థితులై ఉండిరి.

Word by Word

सहस्रम्a thousand

ऋषयःsages

यस्यof whom/whose

नित्यम्always

आसन्were

सभासदःmembers of the assembly/courtiers

तपःश्रुतोपसम्पन्नाःendowed with austerity and learning

सर्वकामैःwith all desired things

उपस्थिताःpresent/attending; having come near

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ṛ

ṛṣis (sages)

sabhā (assembly/court)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents an ethical ideal of governance: a ruler’s prosperity is validated when it sustains and honors tapas (austerity) and śruta (sacred learning). A dharmic court is marked by the presence of learned sages and by resources used to support them, indicating that power should be guided by spiritual and intellectual authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a ruler (implied by 'yasya', 'whose') whose assembly is continually attended by a thousand sages. These sages, rich in ascetic merit and scriptural knowledge, sit as court members and are provided for with all necessities—depicting the court’s prestige and its alignment with dharma.