Shloka 34

Draupadī’s Lament and the Question of Kṣatriya Forbearance (द्रौपद्याः शोकप्रलापः क्षमानिर्णयश्च)

Devanagari script

तदहं तेजस: काल॑ तव मन्ये नराधिप । धार्तराष्टेषु लुब्धेषु सततं चापकारिषु,(द्रौपदी कहती है--) नरेश्वर! धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्र लोभी तथा सदा आपका अपकार करनेवाले हैं; अत: उनके प्रति आपके तेजके प्रयोगका यह अवसर आया है, ऐसा मेरा मत है

Transliteration

tad ahaṃ tejasā kālaṃ tava manye narādhipa | dhārtarāṣṭreṣu lubdheṣu satataṃ cāpakāriṣu ||

Translation

Muôn tâu bậc chúa tể loài người, thiếp cho rằng đây chính là lúc bệ hạ nên dùng uy lực vương giả của mình. Con trai của Dhṛtarāṣṭra tham lam và luôn mưu hại bệ hạ; bởi vậy, đối với họ, thời khắc hành động quyết liệt đã đến.

Word by Word

तत्that (fact/thing)

अहम्I

तेजसःof power/splendor

कालम्time/occasion

तवof you/your

मन्येI think/consider

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

धार्तराष्ट्रेषुamong the Dhārtarāṣṭras (sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

लुब्धेषुgreedy

सततम्always/constantly

चand

अपकारिषुharm-doing/hostile

Speaker

प्रह्माद उवाच

Characters & Entities

narādhipa (the king addressed, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Dhārtarāṣṭras (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, i.e., the Kauravas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse argues that power (tejas) should be used at the right time (kāla) in defense of dharma: when opponents are persistently harmful and driven by greed, restraint can become complicity, and decisive action becomes an ethical duty for a ruler.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker urges the king to recognize that the Dhṛtarāṣṭra faction is consistently hostile and greedy, and therefore this is the proper moment to act firmly against them—counsel that pushes the narrative toward justified confrontation rather than passive endurance.