Shloka 11
सभा-पर्यवसान-प्रस्थानवचनम् | Counsel at the Point of Departure
तामिमां धर्मराजस्य भारया सदृशवर्णजाम् | ब्रूत दासीमदासीं वा तत् करिष्यामि कौरवा:,कौरवो! मैं धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरकी धर्मपत्नी तथा उनके समान वर्णकी कन्या हूँ। आपलोग बतावें, मैं दासी हूँ या अदासी? आप जैसा कहेंगे मैं वैसा ही करूँगी
tām imāṃ dharmarājasya bhāryayā sadṛśavarṇajām | brūta dāsīm adāsīṃ vā tat kariṣyāmi kauravāḥ ||
اے کوروو! میں دھرم راج یدھشٹھِر کی جائز بیوی ہوں اور اسی ورن کی بیٹی ہوں۔ صاف بتاؤ—میں داسی ہوں یا نہیں؟ تم جو کہو گے، میں ویسا ہی کروں گی۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as a public, reasoned standard: a person’s status and rights cannot be reduced to power or coercion. By demanding a clear determination—‘slave or not’—the speaker forces the assembly to confront the ethical and legal implications of treating a lawful queen as property.
In the royal assembly after the dice-game, the woman identified as Dharmarāja’s wife appeals to the Kauravas to decide her status. Her question challenges the legitimacy of her being treated as a wagered object and presses the court to pronounce whether she is bound as a dāsī or remains free.