Mahabharata 4.9.36 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 9, Shloka 36
सहदेवस्य गोसंख्य-तन्तिपाल-रूपेण विराट-समागमः | Sahadeva’s Audience with Virāṭa as Cattle-Enumerator
Tantipāla
अपृच्छंश्वैव तां दृष्टवा का त्वं कि च चिकीर्षसि । उसे इधर-उधर भटकती देख बहुत-सी स्त्रियाँ और पुरुष उसके पास दौड़े आये तथा पूछने लगे--'तुम कौन हो? और क्या करना चाहती हो?”
vaiśampāyana uvāca | apṛcchanś caiva tāṃ dṛṣṭvā kā tvaṃ kiṃ ca cikīrṣasi |
وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا— اسے دیکھتے ہی انہوں نے فوراً پوچھا: ‘تم کون ہو، اور کیا کرنا چاہتی ہو؟’ اس طرح وِراٹ کی رانی کی تسلی و اطمینان پا کر کرشنا (دروپدی) وہیں رہنے لگی۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical vigilance in adversity: when one’s safety and dharma are at stake, one must practice restraint, careful self-presentation, and reliance on rightful protection, preserving dignity and moral integrity even amid suspicion.
Townspeople see an unfamiliar woman wandering and question her identity and purpose. In the surrounding context, Draupadī—reassured by Virāṭa’s queen—remains in the city under concealment, and no one recognizes who she truly is.
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