महाप्राज्ञः सोमको यज्ञसेनः; कन्यां पाञ्चालीं पाण्डवेभ्यः प्रदाय ॥
अकार्षीद् वै दुष्कृतं नेह सन्ति; क्लीबाः पार्थाः पतयो याज्ञसेन्याः ॥
सूक्ष्मान् प्रावारान् अजिनानि चोदितान्; दृष्ट्वारण्ये निर्धनान् अप्रतिष्ठान् ॥
कां त्वं प्रीतिं लप्स्यसे याज्ञसेनि; पतिं वृणीष्व यम् इहान्यम् इच्छसि ॥
एते हि सर्वे कुरवः समेताः; क्षान्ता दान्ताः सुद्रविणोपपन्नाः ॥
एषां वृणीष्वैकतमं पतित्वे; न त्वां तपेत् कालविपर्ययो ऽयम् ॥
यथाफलाः षण्ढतिला यथा चर्ममया मृगाः ॥
तथैव पाण्डवाः सर्वे यथा काकयवा अपि ॥
किं पाण्डवांस् त्वं पतितान् उपास्से; मोघः श्रमः षण्ढतिलान् उपास्य ॥
एवं नृशंसः परुषाणि पार्थान्; अश्रावयद् धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्रः ॥
mahāprājñaḥ somako yajñasenaḥ; kanyāṃ pāñcālīṃ pāṇḍavebhyaḥ pradāya ||
akārṣīd vai duṣkṛtaṃ neha santi; klībāḥ pārthāḥ patayo yājñasenyāḥ ||
sūkṣmān prāvārān ajināni coditān; dṛṣṭvāraṇye nirdhanān apratiṣṭhān ||
kāṃ tvaṃ prītiṃ lapsyase yājñaseni; patiṃ vṛṇīṣva yam ihānyam icchasi ||
ete hi sarve kuravaḥ sametāḥ; kṣāntā dāntāḥ sudraviṇopapannāḥ ||
eṣāṃ vṛṇīṣvaikatamaṃ patitve; na tvāṃ tapet kālaviparyayo 'yam ||
yathāphalāḥ ṣaṇḍhatilā yathā carmamayā mṛgāḥ ||
tathaiva pāṇḍavāḥ sarve yathā kākayavā api ||
kiṃ pāṇḍavāṃs tvaṃ patitān upāsse; moghaḥ śramaḥ ṣaṇḍhatilān upāsya ||
evaṃ nṛśaṃsaḥ paruṣāṇi pārthān; aśrāvayad dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putraḥ ||
[Duhshasana:] 'The most wise Somaka Yajnasena, having given the maiden Panchali to the Pandavas, did an ill deed: for there are no men here — powerless are the Parthas, the husbands of Yajnaseni. Seeing them in skins, driven on, in the forest, without wealth and without support — what joy will you find, O Yajnaseni? Choose for yourself another husband, whomever you desire. For all these assembled Kurus are patient, self-controlled, and wealthy; choose one of them as a husband — let not this turn of time scorch you. As barren as roasted sesame seeds, as hides of beasts stuffed with leather, so too are all the Pandavas, like empty crow-grain. Why do you wait upon the fallen Pandavas? Vain is the labor, like service to roasted sesame.' Thus the cruel son of Dhritarashtra made the Parthas listen to cruel words.
b85d02f2a641 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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The persecutor repeats his old slander — 'choose another' — and heaps up degradations: he calls the men powerless, their offspring empty grain. But no slander can prevail against purity: Draupadi's fidelity is revealed precisely in that it shines brighter under the abuse of her husbands. Telling is the comparison to 'barren sesame': one who imagines strength lies only in outward triumph does not see the fruitful power hidden in those who endure; these 'barren' ones will in their hour reap the field of battle. The verse teaches that slander against the dignity of the fallen exposes the baseness of the slanderer, not of the fallen; that fidelity is not bought by fortune nor abandoned in adversity; and that the seeming barrenness of the righteous is only the seed of retribution and triumph, hidden until its time.