Shloka 36
Parṇāda’s Report; Bāhuka’s Counsel; Damayantī’s Strategic Svayaṃvara Message (अध्याय ६८)
ततः सुदेवमानाय्य राजमाता विशाम्पते । पप्रच्छ भार्या कस्येयं सुता वा कस्य भाविनी,युधिष्ठिर! तब राजमाताने सुदेवको बुलाकर पूछा--“विप्रवर! जान पड़ता है, तुम इसे जानते हो। बताओ, यह सुन्दरी युवती किसकी पत्नी अथवा किसकी पुत्री है? यह सुन्दर नेत्रोंवाली सुन्दरी अपने भाई-बन्धुओं अथवा पतिसे किस प्रकार विलग हुई है? यह सती- साध्वी नारी ऐसी दुरवस्थामें क्यों पड़ गयी?
tataḥ sudevam ānāyya rājamātā viśāmpate | papraccha bhāryā kasyeyaṃ sutā vā kasya bhāvinī, yudhiṣṭhira |
于是，王太后——民众之主啊——命人带来苏提婆，问道：“婆罗门中最尊者，看起来你认识她。告诉我：此女是谁之妻，或是谁之女？尤提士提罗啊，这位莲眼丽人如何与亲族或夫君离散？为何这位贞信贤德的女子竟堕入如此凄惨的境地？”
बृहृदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharmic concern for a vulnerable woman: a ruler’s household should not ignore suffering but must inquire carefully into identity, kinship ties, and the causes of distress, so that protection and justice can be properly extended.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that the queen-mother summons Sudeva and questions him about a beautiful young woman—asking whose wife or daughter she is, how she became separated from her relatives or husband, and why she has fallen into misery.