Shloka 16
Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)
जिनके कहीं यात्रा करते समय दस हजार हाथी और सोनेकी मालाएँ पहने हुए सहस्रों घोड़े पीछे-पीछे चलते थे, वे ही महाराज यहाँ जूएसे जीविका चलाते हैं ।। रथा: शतसहस्राणि नृपाणाममितौजसाम् | उपासन्त महाराजमिन्द्रप्रस्थे युधिष्ठिरम्
rathāḥ śata-sahasrāṇi nṛpāṇām amita-ojasām | upāsanta mahārājam indraprasthe yudhiṣṭhiram ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：在因陀罗普拉斯塔，曾有无数强王的战车——数以十万计——前来侍奉犹提湿提罗王。然而如今同样的王者威仪却被命运颠覆：那位曾受诸强王服侍的主君，竟在此靠掷骰之局维持生计——这是对伦理的哀叹：当繁荣与权势被赌博与误断所系缚，便可能崩塌为屈辱与依附。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal power and prosperity are unstable when dharma is compromised; the verse underscores the moral warning that attachment to gambling and poor judgment can reduce even a universally honored king to disgrace and dependence.
The narrator recalls Yudhiṣṭhira’s former imperial splendor at Indraprastha—countless chariots of powerful kings attending him—contrasting it with his present diminished condition after the dice-game, heightening the sense of reversal and pathos.