Shloka 25
Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure
“यह बात सम्पूर्ण जगतमें प्रसिद्ध है कि वारणावतनगरमें जब कुन्तीके पुत्रोंपर भारी संकट पड़ा था, तब आप ही द्वीपके समान उनके रक्षक हुए थे ।।
yaḥ bāta sampūrṇa-jagat-e prasiddhā asti yat Vāraṇāvata-nagare yadā Kuntī-putreṣu bhārī saṅkaṭaḥ apatat, tadā tvam eva dvīpa iva teṣāṃ rakṣakaḥ abhavaḥ. hiḍimba-darśane ca eva tathā tvam abhavo gatiḥ; tathā Virāṭa-nagare Kīcakena bhṛśa-arditām.
此事举世皆知：在婆罗那伐多城，昆蒂之子陷于大难之时，唯有你护佑他们——如同溺者所依之岛。又在遭遇希迪姆婆之际，你成为他们的归依；同样在毗罗吒城，当他们被基恰迦残酷逼迫之时，也是如此。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal of steadfast protection: in moments of extreme danger, a righteous ally becomes a ‘refuge’ for the vulnerable. It praises consistent guardianship across different trials, implying that true strength is measured by how one shields others in संकट (crisis).
Vaiśampāyana recalls earlier episodes where the Pāṇḍavas faced peril—at Vāraṇāvata, during the Hiḍimba encounter, and in Virāṭa’s city under Kīcaka’s oppression—and states that the addressed person repeatedly served as their protector and refuge.