Shloka 27
धृतराष्ट उवाच वरं वृणीष्व पाज्चालि मत्तो यदभिवाञ्छसि । वधूनां हि विशिष्टा मे त्वं धर्मपरमा सती,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--बहू द्रौपदी! तुम मेरी पुत्रवधुओंमें सबसे श्रेष्ठ एवं धर्मपरायणा सती हो। तुम्हारी जो इच्छा हो, उसके अनुसार मुझसे वर माँग लो
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca varaṁ vṛṇīṣva pāñcāli matto yad abhivāñchasi | vadhūnāṁ hi viśiṣṭā me tvaṁ dharmaparāmā satī ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “Hỡi Pāñcālī, hãy chọn một ân huệ từ ta—điều gì nàng thật sự mong muốn. Trong các nàng dâu của ta, nàng là bậc xuất chúng, người phụ nữ trinh chính, kiên định phụng sự dharma; vì thế, cứ xin theo ý nàng.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as a moral standard: a ruler acknowledges virtue and seeks to make amends through a lawful, public grant (vara). It also highlights the ethical weight of honoring a wronged yet dharma-centered person by offering restitution and agency.
In the aftermath of Draupadī’s humiliation in the Kuru assembly, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses her respectfully as Pāñcālī and offers her a boon, recognizing her as the foremost among his daughters-in-law and devoted to dharma—setting up her request(s) that will affect the fate of the Pāṇḍavas.