Shloka 19
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
आकृष्य केशे रुदती सभायां राजसंसदि । भीष्मद्रोणप्रमुखतो गौरिति व्याहृता मुहुः
ākṛṣya keśe rudatī sabhāyāṃ rājasansadi | bhīṣmadroṇapramukhato gaur iti vyāhṛtā muhuḥ ||
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Habang siya’y umiiyak sa bulwagan ng maharlikang kapulungan, kinaladkad siya sa paghila sa kanyang buhok; sa harap mismo nina Bhīṣma, Droṇa, at ng mga pangunahing nakatatanda, paulit-ulit siyang tinawag sa mapanlait na sigaw na ‘baka!’—isang malupit na kahihiyang hayagan na naglantad sa pagbagsak ng dharma sa korte.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public institutions collapse when power is used to humiliate the vulnerable and when respected elders remain passive. It frames the outrage not only as personal cruelty but as a visible breach of dharma within the royal court.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls Draupadī’s humiliation in the assembly: she is dragged by the hair while crying, and in front of Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and other leaders she is repeatedly taunted with the word ‘cow,’ underscoring the court’s moral failure.