किम् अत्र तथ्यं सुश्रोणि किं मिथ्या ब्रूहि शोभने ॥
श्रुत्वा त्वत्तः शुभे वाक्यं संविधास्याम्य् अहं तथा ॥
अहं हि संशयं प्राप्तो बाला चेयं शिखण्डिनी ॥
त्वं च राज्ञि महत् कृच्छ्रं संप्राप्ता वरवर्णिनि ॥
सा त्वं सर्वविमोक्षाय तत्त्वम् आख्याहि पृच्छतः ॥
तथा विदध्यां सुश्रोणि कृत्यस्यास्य शुचिस्मिते ॥
शिखण्डिनि च मा भैस् त्वं विधास्ये तत्र तत्त्वतः ॥
क्रिययाहं वरारोहे वञ्चितः पुत्रधर्मतः ॥
मया दाशार्णको राजा वञ्चितश् च महीपतिः ॥
तद् आचक्ष्व महाभागे विधास्ये तत्र यद् धितम् ॥
जानतापि नरेन्द्रेण ख्यापनार्थं परस्य वै ॥
प्रकाशं चोदिता देवी प्रत्युवाच महीपतिम् ॥
kim atra tathyaṃ suśroṇi kiṃ mithyā brūhi śobhane ||
śrutvā tvattaḥ śubhe vākyaṃ saṃvidhāsyāmy ahaṃ tathā ||
ahaṃ hi saṃśayaṃ prāpto bālā ceyaṃ śikhaṇḍinī ||
tvaṃ ca rājñi mahat kṛcchraṃ saṃprāptā varavarṇini ||
sā tvaṃ sarvavimokṣāya tattvam ākhyāhi pṛcchataḥ ||
tathā vidadhyāṃ suśroṇi kṛtyasyāsya śucismite ||
śikhaṇḍini ca mā bhais tvaṃ vidhāsye tatra tattvataḥ ||
kriyayāhaṃ varārohe vañcitaḥ putradharmataḥ ||
mayā dāśārṇako rājā vañcitaś ca mahīpatiḥ ||
tad ācakṣva mahābhāge vidhāsye tatra yad dhitam ||
jānatāpi narendreṇa khyāpanārthaṃ parasya vai ||
prakāśaṃ coditā devī pratyuvāca mahīpatim ||
'What here is true, O fair-hipped one, and what is false? Tell me, O beautiful one. Having heard a good word from you, I shall act accordingly. I have fallen into doubt, and this Shikhandini is still young; and you, O queen of lovely form, have come into great distress. Therefore, for the deliverance of all, tell me the truth, as I ask it of you. Then, O fair-hipped one, I shall arrange, as is fitting, all that this matter requires. And do not fear for Shikhandini: I shall take the right measures. O lovely-limbed one, in the matter of my son's due rite I was deceived by the ceremony, and through me the king of Dasharna, lord of the earth, was deceived as well. Tell me this, O blessed one, and I shall arrange what will be beneficial.' Though the king already knew the truth, he openly urged the queen to speak it, so that it might be disclosed before another; and the queen replied to the lord of the earth.
08392ff1b83f · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:41:26 AM UTC
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This chapter reveals the cost of a hidden truth. Drupada trusts Shiva's word, yet political reality demands an immediate response: Hiranyavarman takes what has happened as a deception against his lineage and prepares a campaign. Drupada's fear is not mere weakness; it is the fear of a man who has tried to hold a divine pronouncement within the bounds of human rites and social agreements. The conversation with his wife becomes a turn toward truth: now the secret must not only be kept but rightly disclosed, so as to protect Shikhandin and the kingdom.