Shloka 114
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
“तुम सब लोग अमनुष्योचित दीन दशाको प्राप्त हो दासभावमें स्थित थे। उस समय ट्रपदकुमारी कृष्णाने ही दासताके संकटमें पड़े हुए तुम सब लोगोंको छुड़ाया था ।। अवोचं यत् षण्ढतिलानहं वस्तथ्यमेव तत् | धृता हि वेणी पार्थेन विराटनगरे तदा,“मैंने जो उन दिनों तुमलोगोंको हिजड़ा या नपुंसक कहा था, वह ठीक ही निकला; क्योंकि अज्ञातवासके समय विराटनगरमें अर्जुनको अपने सिरपर स्त्रियोंकी भाँति वेणी धारण करनी पड़ी
sañjaya uvāca | yūyaṁ sarve ’manuṣyocitāṁ dīna-daśāṁ prāptā dāsa-bhāve sthitā āsata | tadā draupadī-kumārī kṛṣṇā eva dāsatā-saṅkaṭe patitān yuṣmān sarvān amocayat || avocaṁ yat ṣaṇḍha-tilān ahaṁ vas-tathyam eva tat | dhṛtā hi veṇī pārthena virāṭa-nagare tadā ||
Sañjaya nói: “Tất cả các ngươi đã rơi vào cảnh khốn cùng không xứng bậc nam nhi, sống trong tâm thế của kẻ nô. Khi ấy chính Kṛṣṇā—Draupadī, công chúa con vua Drupada—một mình đã cứu các ngươi khỏi tai ương của kiếp nô lệ. Và lời ta nói thuở đó—rằng các ngươi như bọn hoạn nhân—đã thành sự thật; bởi trong thời kỳ ẩn thân tại thành Virāṭa, Pārtha (Arjuna) đã phải bện tóc như một phụ nữ.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights two ethical tensions: (1) gratitude and recognition of Draupadī’s decisive agency in rescuing the afflicted, and (2) the moral danger of humiliating speech—Sanjaya reports a harsh insult that equates enforced disguise and vulnerability with loss of manhood. It invites reflection on how dharma is upheld not merely by status or gendered appearance, but by conduct, courage, and loyalty in crisis.
Sanjaya recounts that the group had been reduced to a servile, helpless condition, and that Draupadī (called Kṛṣṇā) freed them from that predicament. He then recalls having earlier mocked them as ‘eunuchs,’ claiming it was ‘confirmed’ because during the incognito exile (ajñātavāsa) Arjuna, in Virāṭa’s city, adopted a feminine presentation, including wearing a braid (veṇī).