Shloka 11
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
कदलीस्तम्भसदृशं सर्वलक्षणसंयुतम् । गजहस्तप्रतीकाशं वज्रप्रतिमगौरवम्
kadalī-stambha-sadṛśaṁ sarva-lakṣaṇa-saṁyutam | gaja-hasta-pratīkāśaṁ vajra-pratima-gauravam ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “(Ipinakita niya) ang kanyang kaliwang hita—makapal na gaya ng punò ng saging, taglay ang lahat ng palatandaan ng matibay na lakas, may mga umbok at lundo na tulad ng nguso ng elepante, at mabigat at matigas na parang vajra.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how arrogance and the intoxication of power lead to adharma: public humiliation and sexualized insult become moral transgressions that demand accountability, setting in motion consequences that culminate in catastrophic conflict.
In the assembly-hall episode, Duryodhana, emboldened and mocking, displays his thigh toward Draupadī as an act of contempt and provocation, while encouraging Karṇa and slighting Bhīma—an insult remembered later as a key cause for Bhīma’s vow of retribution.