Text 49
sūta uvāca
dharmyaṁ nyāyyaṁ sakaruṇaṁ
nirvyalīkaṁ samaṁ mahat
rājā dharma-suto rājñyāḥ
pratyanandad vaco dvijāḥ
sūtaḥ uvāca — Sūta Gosvāmī said; dharmyam — in accordance with the principles of religion; nyāyyam — justice; sa-karuṇam — full of mercy; nirvyalīkam — without duplicity in dharma; samam — equity; mahat — glorious; rājā — the King; dharma-sutaḥ — son; rājñyāḥ — by the Queen; pratyanandat — supported; vacaḥ — statements; dvijāḥ — O brāhmaṇas.
Sūta Gosvāmī said: O brāhmaṇas, King Yudhiṣṭhira fully supported the statements of the Queen, which were in accordance with the principles of religion and were justified, glorious, full of mercy and equity, and without duplicity.
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who was the son of Dharmarāja, or Yamarāja, fully supported the words of Queen Draupadī in asking Arjuna to release Aśvatthāmā. One should not tolerate the humiliation of a member of a great family. Arjuna and his family were indebted to the family of Droṇācārya because of Arjuna’s learning the military science from him. If ingratitude were shown to such a benevolent family, it would not be at all justified from the moral standpoint. The wife of Droṇācārya, who was the half body of the great soul, must be treated with compassion, and she should not be put into grief because of her son’s death. That is compassion. Such statements by Draupadī are without duplicity because actions should be taken with full knowledge. The feeling of equality was there because Draupadī spoke out of her personal experience. A barren woman cannot understand the grief of a mother. Draupadī was herself a mother, and therefore her calculation of the depth of Kṛpī’s grief was quite to the point. And it was glorious because she wanted to show proper respect to a great family.