The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Virata Parva
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"Draupadi said, 'What grief hath she not who hath Yudhishthira for her
husband? Knowing all my griefs, why dost thou ask me? The _Pratikamin_
dragged me to the court in the midst of an assembly of courtiers,
calling me a slave. That grief, O Bharata, consumeth me. What other
princess, save Draupadi, would live having suffered such intense misery?
Who else, save myself, could bear such second insult as the wicked
Saindhava offered me while residing in the forest? Who else of my
position, save myself, could live, having been kicked by Kichaka in the
very sight of the wicked king of the Matsyas? Of what value is life, O
Bharata, when thou, O son of Kunti, dost not think me miserable,
although I am afflicted with such woes? That vile and wicked wretch, O
Bharata, known by the name of Kichaka, who is the brother-in-law of king
Virata and the commander of his forces, every day, O tiger among men,
addresses me who am residing in the palace as a _Sairindhri_, saying,
_Do thou become my wife_.--Thus solicited, O slayer of foes, by that
wretch deserving to be slain, my heart is bursting like a fruit ripened
in season. Censure thou that elder brother of thine addicted to
execrable dice, through whose act alone I have been afflicted with such
woe. Who else, save him that is a desperate gambler, would play, giving
up kingdom and everything including even myself, in order to lead a life
in the woods? If he had gambled morning and evening for many years
together, staking _nishkas_ by thousand and other kinds of substantial
wealth, still his silver, and gold, and robes, and vehicles, and teams,
and goats, and sheep, and multitudes of steeds and mares and mules would
not have sustained any diminution. But now deprived of prosperity by the
rivalry of dice, he sits dumb like a fool, reflecting on his own
misdeeds. Alas, he who, while sojourning, was followed by ten thousand
elephants adorned with golden garlands now supports himself by casting
dice. That Yudhishthira who at Indraprastha was adored by kings of
incomparable prowess by hundreds of thousands, that mighty monarch in
whose kitchen a hundred thousand maid-servants, plate in hand, used
every day to feed numerous guests day and night, that best of liberal
men, who gave (every day) a thousand _nishkas_, alas, even he
overwhelmed with woe in consequence of gambling which is the root of all
evil, now supporteth himself by casting dice. Bards and encomiasts by
thousands decked with ear-rings set with brilliant gems, and gifted with
melodious voice, used to pay him homage morning and evening. Alas, that
Yudhishthira, who was daily waited upon by a thousand sages of ascetic
merit, versed in the _Vedas_ and having every desire gratified, as his
courtiers,--that Yudhishthira who maintained eighty-eight thousands of
domestic _Snatakas_ with thirty maid-servants assigned unto each, as
also ten thousand _yatis_ not accepting anything in gift and with vital
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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