Shloka 12
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
अभ्युत्स्मयित्वा राधेयं भीममाधर्षयन्निव | द्रौपद्या: प्रेक्षमाणाया: सव्यमूरुमदर्शयत्
abhyutsmayitvā rādheyaṁ bhīmam ādhārṣayann iva | draupadyāḥ prekṣamāṇāyāḥ savyaṁ ūrūm adarśayat ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Sa ngiting mapagmataas, si Duryodhana—na wari’y inuudyukan si Rādheya (Karna) at hinahamak si Bhīma—ay itinaas ang kanyang kasuotan at ipinakita ang kaliwang hita kay Draupadī habang siya’y nakatingin. Iyon ay sinadyang pag-insulto, bunga ng pagkalasing sa kapangyarihan at yaman, upang ipahiya at udyukan sila.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance and the intoxication of power lead to deliberate humiliation of others—an ethical collapse (adharma) that escalates conflict. Public insult, especially in a royal assembly, is portrayed as a grave moral provocation that corrodes social order and hastens catastrophic consequences.
In the assembly context, Duryodhana mockingly smiles, encourages Karna by gesture, and disparages Bhima, then lifts his garment and displays his left thigh to Draupadi as an insult. The act is meant to taunt and enrage the Pāṇḍavas and to shame Draupadī, intensifying hostility in the court.