Shloka 22
Kīcaka-vadha-pratisaṃjñā: Rumor in Matsya and the Kaurava Scouts’ Report (कीचकवध-प्रतिसंज्ञा)
न हि दुःखं समाप्रोषि सैरन्ध्री यदुपाश्रुते । तेन मां दुःखितामेवं पृच्छसे प्रहसन्निव
na hi duḥkhaṃ samāproṣi sairandhrī yad upāśrute | tena māṃ duḥkhitām evaṃ pṛcchase prahasan niva ||
“اے سَیرَندھری! جو دکھ مجھ پر آ پڑا ہے نہ تم اسے حقیقتاً سہتی ہو، نہ اسے دور کر سکتی ہو؛ اسی لیے تم مجھے اس طرح پوچھتی ہو گویا ہنستے ہنستے پہلے ہی دکھی کو چھیڑ رہی ہو۔”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical sensitivity: questioning a sufferer without empathy can become cruelty. True concern either shares the burden or seeks to relieve it; otherwise, inquiry may feel like ridicule.
In the Virāṭa court setting, Sairandhrī (Draupadī in disguise) speaks with a woman who is distressed. The speaker responds sharply, saying Sairandhrī neither experiences nor can remove her pain, so her questioning seems like mockery.