SECTION LXVIII
(Dyuta Parva Continued)
Draupadi said,--'Wait a little, thou worst of
men, thou wicked-minded Dussasana. I have an act to perform--a high duty that
hath not been performed by me yet. Dragged forcibly by this wretch's strong
arms, I was deprived of my senses. I salute these reverend seniors in this
assembly of the Kurus. That I could not do this before cannot be my
fault.'"
Vaisampayana said,--"Dragged with greater
force than before, the afflicted and helpless Draupadi, undeserving of such
treatment, falling down upon the ground, thus wept in that assembly of the
Kurus,--
"'Alas, only once before, on the occasion of
the Swayamvara, I was beheld by the assembled kings in the amphitheatre, and
never even once beheld afterwards. I am to-day brought before this assembly.
She whom even the winds and the sun had seen never before in her palace is
to-day before this assembly and exposed to the gaze of the crowd. Alas, she
whom the sons of Pandu could not, while in her palace, suffer to be touched
even by the wind, is to-day suffered by the Pandavas to be seized and dragged
by this wretch. Alas, these Kauravas also suffer their daughter-in-law, so
unworthy of such treatment, to be thus afflicted before them. It seemeth that
the times are out of joint. What can be more distressing to me, than that
though high-born and chaste, I should yet be compelled to enter this public
court? Where is that virtue for which these kings were noted? It hath been
heard that the kings of ancient days never brought their wedded wives into the
public court. Alas, that eternal usage hath disappeared from among the
Kauravas. Else, how is it that the chaste wife of the Pandavas, the sister of
Prishata's son, the friend of Vasudeva, is brought before this assembly? Ye
Kauravas, I am the wedded wife of king Yudhishthira the just, hailing from the
same dynasty to which the King belonged. Tell me now if I am a serving-maid or
otherwise. I will cheerfully accept your answer. This mean wretch, this
destroyer of the name of the Kurus, is afflicting me hard. Ye Kauravas, I
cannot bear it any longer. Ye kings, I desire ye to answer whether ye regard me
as won or unwon. I will accept your verdict whatever it be.'
"Hearing these words, Bhishma answered, I
have already said, O blessed one that the course of morality is subtle. Even
the illustrious wise in this world fail to understand it always. What in this
world a strong man calls morality is regarded as such by others, however
otherwise it may really be; but what a weak man calls morality is scarcely
regarded as such even if it be the highest morality. From the importance of the
issue involved, from its intricacy and subtlety, I am unable to answer with
certitude the question thou hast asked. However, it is certain that as all the
Kurus have become the slaves of covetousness and folly, the destruction of this
our race will happen on no distant date. O blessed one, the family into which
thou hast been admitted as a daughter-in-law, is such that those who are born
in it, however much they might be afflicted by calamities, never deviate from
the paths of virtue and morality. O Princess of Panchala, this conduct of thine
also, viz. that though sunk in distress, thou still easiest thy eyes on virtue
and morality, is assuredly worthy of thee. These persons, Drona and others, of
mature years and conversant with morality, sit heads downwards like men that
are dead, with bodies from which life hath departed. It seemeth to me, however,
that Yudhishthira is an authority on this question. It behoveth him to declare
whether thou art won or not won."
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