Shloka 20
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
दुर्योधन उवाच भीमस्य वाकये तद्वदेवार्जुनस्य स्थितो<हं वै यमयोश्वैवमेव । युधिष्ठिरं ते प्रवदन्त्वनीश- मथो दास्यान्मोक्ष्यसे याज्ञसेनि,दुर्योधन बोला--द्रौपदी! मैं भीम, अर्जुन एवं नकुल-सहदेवकी बात माननेके लिये तैयार हूँ। ये सब लोग कह दें कि युधिष्ठिरको तुम्हें हारनेका कोई अधिकार नहीं था, फिर तुम दासीपनसे मुक्त कर दी जाओगी
duryodhana uvāca
bhīmasya vākye tadvad evārjunasya sthito ’haṃ vai yamayoś caivam eva |
yudhiṣṭhiraṃ te pravadantv anīśam atho dāsyān mokṣyase yājñaseni ||
Duryodhana nói: “Ta đứng theo lời Bhīma, cũng như theo lời Arjuna; và cả theo lời hai huynh đệ song sinh. Hãy để họ tuyên bố rằng Yudhiṣṭhira không có quyền đem nàng ra đặt cược. Khi ấy, hỡi Yajñasenī (Draupadī), nàng sẽ được giải khỏi thân phận nô lệ.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds a dharmic-legal question: whether Yudhishthira had the moral and juridical authority to wager Draupadi. Duryodhana frames her release as contingent on a public acknowledgment that the wager lacked valid authority—highlighting how power can manipulate ‘procedure’ and declarations to control justice.
In the Kuru assembly after the dice-game humiliation, Duryodhana addresses Draupadi (Yajñasenī). He claims he will accept the position of Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins: if they declare that Yudhishthira had no right to stake her, then she will be freed from being treated as a slave.