चित्रान् संनाहान् अवमुञ्चन्तु चैषां; वासांसि दिव्यानि च भानुमन्ति ॥
निवास्यन्तां रुरुचर्माणि सर्वे; यथा ग्लहं सौबलस्याभ्युपेताः ॥
न सन्ति लोकेषु पुमांस ईदृशा; इत्य् एव ये भावितबुद्धयः सदा ॥
ज्ञास्यन्ति ते ऽऽत्मानम् इमे ऽद्य पाण्डवा; विपर्यये षण्ढतिला इवाफलाः ॥
अयं हि वासोदय ईदृशानां; मनस्विनां कौरव मा भवेद् वः ॥
अदीक्षितानाम् अजिनानि यद्वद्; बलीयसां पश्यत पाण्डवानाम् ॥
citrān saṃnāhān avamuñcantu caiṣāṃ; vāsāṃsi divyāni ca bhānumanti ||
nivāsyantāṃ rurucarmāṇi sarve; yathā glahaṃ saubalasyābhyupetāḥ ||
na santi lokeṣu pumāṃsa īdṛśā; ity eva ye bhāvitabuddhayaḥ sadā ||
jñāsyanti te ''tmānam ime 'dya pāṇḍavā; viparyaye ṣaṇḍhatilā ivāphalāḥ ||
ayaṃ hi vāsodaya īdṛśānāṃ; manasvināṃ kaurava mā bhaved vaḥ ||
adīkṣitānām ajināni yadvad; balīyasāṃ paśyata pāṇḍavānām ||
[Duhshasana:] 'Let them cast off these many-colored armors and their splendid, radiant garments; let them all put on the skins of ruru antelopes, just as they accepted the stake of Subala's son. Those who always thought, "There are no men in the worlds like us" — now these Pandavas shall know themselves, having become, in this reversal, barren as roasted sesame seeds. May this garb of such wise men, O Kaurava, never be yours; look — like the skins of the uninitiated are they now upon the mighty Pandavas.'
8c0918659b78 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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The mocker strives to rob the Pandavas even of the honor of their austerity: the ascetic's garment, the robe of patient endurance, he tries to make a disgrace. But the exile's skin worn by the righteous is no shame but a sign, and the contrast with 'the uninitiated' turns back upon the reviler — for those who endure injustice are already initiated into the dharma of suffering. It is telling that he himself fears the resemblance — 'may your garb never be like theirs': even as he mocks, he secretly senses that this lower state here is higher than the highest. The verse teaches that an outward mark of degradation does not degrade one who bears it in purity; that mockery of righteous exile exposes the mocker, not the exile; and that there is a dignity which cannot be taken away, for it grows precisely through deprivation.