वैशंपायन उवाच
एवम् उक्ते तु वचने धर्मराजेन भारत ॥
धिग् धिग् इत्य् एव वृद्धानां सभ्यानां निःसृता गिरः ॥
चुक्षुभे सा सभा राजन् राज्ञां संजज्ञिरे कथाः ॥
भीष्मद्रोणकृपादीनां स्वेदश् च समजायत ॥
शिरो गृहीत्वा विदुरो गतसत्त्व इवाभवत् ॥
आस्ते ध्यायन्न् अधोवक्त्रो निःश्वसन् पन्नगो यथा ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
evam ukte tu vacane dharmarājena bhārata ||
dhig dhig ity eva vṛddhānāṃ sabhyānāṃ niḥsṛtā giraḥ ||
cukṣubhe sā sabhā rājan rājñāṃ saṃjajñire kathāḥ ||
bhīṣmadroṇakṛpādīnāṃ svedaś ca samajāyata ||
śiro gṛhītvā viduro gatasattva ivābhavat ||
āste dhyāyann adhovaktro niḥśvasan pannago yathā ||
When Dharmaraja had spoken this word, O Bharata, "Shame, shame!" — such were the words that burst from the elder members of the assembly. That hall shuddered, O king; murmurs arose among the kings; sweat broke out on Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, and the rest. And Vidura, clutching his head, became as one bereft of strength; he sits brooding, his face turned down, sighing like a hissing serpent.
582a2220f457 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:03:37 PM UTC
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The staking of Draupadi tears from the elders the cry of "shame!": the hall shudders, Bhishma sweats, Vidura's spirit fails him. It is telling that even those who had foreseen the disaster shuddered when it actually came to pass: to know of evil and to witness its accomplishment are different things. The verse teaches that there is a limit at which a conscience that had until then kept silent cries out: the degradation of a woman awakens horror even in those who had said nothing. But it is grievous that this horror is powerless — the elders sweat, Vidura groans, yet no one rises and no one stops it. Shuddering without action is a mute reproach even to those who shudder. When evil reaches its depths, all creation responds; but a groan alone, without a hand stretched out in defense, does not save the victim — it only testifies that even the good are bound here.