Shloka 13
Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
मेरे श्वशुर आदि समस्त कौरव चुपचाप बैठे थे और द्रौपदी अपने लिये रक्षक चाहती हुई भगवान्को पुकार-पुकारकर कुररीकी भाँति विलाप कर रही थी ।।
keśapakṣe parāmṛṣṭā pāpena hatabuddhinā | yadā duḥśāsanena eṣā tadā muhyāmy ahaṃ nṛpāḥ ||
毗舍摩波耶那说：“诸王啊，当那罪恶的杜沙萨那——其判断已被邪恶摧毁——揪住这女子的头发拖拽之时，我被悲痛压倒，恍惚失神。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma manifests as moral blindness: Duḥśāsana’s wicked act is described as the deed of one whose बुद्धि (judgment) is destroyed. It also implies a ruler’s ethical responsibility to prevent such outrage; the narrator’s shock underscores the gravity of violating a woman’s dignity and the collapse of dharma in the assembly.
Vaiśampāyana recalls the infamous moment when Duḥśāsana grabbed Draupadī by the hair and dragged her. The speaker describes being overwhelmed and mentally stunned by sorrow at witnessing that humiliation.