द्रौपद्य् उवाच
नास्मि लभ्या विराटेन न चान्येन कथं चन ॥
गन्धर्वाः पतयो मह्यं युवानः पञ्च भामिनि ॥
पुत्रा गन्धर्वराजस्य महासत्त्वस्य कस्य चित् ॥
रक्षन्ति ते च मां नित्यं दुःखाचारा तथा न्व् अहम् ॥
यो मे न दद्याद् उच्छिष्टं न च पादौ प्रधावयेत् ॥
प्रीयेयुस् तेन वासेन गन्धर्वाः पतयो मम ॥
यो हि मां पुरुषो गृध्येद् यथान्याः प्राकृतस्त्रियः ॥
ताम् एव स ततो रात्रिं प्रविशेद् अपरां तनुम् ॥
न चाप्य् अहं चालयितुं शक्या केन चिद् अङ्गने ॥
दुःखशीला हि गन्धर्वास् ते च मे बलवत्तराः ॥
draupady uvāca
nāsmi labhyā virāṭena na cānyena kathaṃ cana ||
gandharvāḥ patayo mahyaṃ yuvānaḥ pañca bhāmini ||
putrā gandharvarājasya mahāsattvasya kasya cit ||
rakṣanti te ca māṃ nityaṃ duḥkhācārā tathā nv aham ||
yo me na dadyād ucchiṣṭaṃ na ca pādau pradhāvayet ||
prīyeyus tena vāsena gandharvāḥ patayo mama ||
yo hi māṃ puruṣo gṛdhyed yathānyāḥ prākṛtastriyaḥ ||
tām eva sa tato rātriṃ praviśed aparāṃ tanum ||
na cāpy ahaṃ cālayituṃ śakyā kena cid aṅgane ||
duḥkhaśīlā hi gandharvās te ca me balavattarāḥ ||
Draupadi said: 'Neither Virata nor anyone else will ever be able to possess me, radiant one: I have five young gandharva husbands, sons of a certain mighty king of the gandharvas. They protect me always, and I am difficult to deal with. If no one gives me leftovers and no one makes me wash their feet, my gandharva husbands will be content with my staying here. But a man who desires me as though I were an ordinary woman will, that very night, enter another body. No one, woman, will be able to carry me off: the gandharvas are fierce by nature and stronger than I am.'
c5cdfae9b0e0 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:58:59 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Draupadi sets a boundary in advance: service does not mean availability. Her words about the gandharvas are a defense of dignity where the law of the palace may prove too weak.