SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM CANTO 1 – CHAPTER 7 – TEXT Compassion – A glorious quality of a devotee

TEXT 45 sa e ṣ a bhagavān dro ṇ a ḥ prajā-rūpe ṇ a vartate tasyātmano ’rdha ṁ patny āste nānvagād vīrasū ḥ k ṛ pī He [Dro ṇ ācārya] is certainly still existing, being represented by his son. His wife K ṛ pī did not undergo a satī with him because she had a son.

 The wife of Dro ṇ ācārya, K ṛ pī, is the sister of K ṛ pācārya. A devoted wife, who is according to revealed scripture the better half of her husband, is justified in embracing voluntary death along with her husband if she is without issue. But in the case of the wife of Dro ṇ ācārya, she did not undergo such a trial because she had her son, the representative of her husband.  A widow is a widow only in name if there is a son of her husband existing. So in either case Aśvatthāmā was the representative of Dro ṇ ācārya, and therefore killing Aśvatthāmā would be like killing Dro ṇ ācārya. That was the argument of Draupadī against the killing of Aśvatthāmā.

TEXT 46 tad dharmajña mahā-bhāga bhavadbhir gaurava ṁ kulam v ṛ jina ṁ nārhati prāptu ṁ pūjya ṁ vandyam abhīk ṣṇ aśa ḥ O most fortunate one who know the principles of religion, it is not good for you to cause grief to glorious family members who are always respectable and worshipful. A slight insult for a respectable family is sufficient to invoke grief. Therefore, a cultured man should always be careful in dealing with worshipful family members.

TEXT 47 mā rodīd asya jananī gautamī pati-devatā yathāha ṁ m ṛ ta-vatsārtā rodimy aśru-mukhī muhu ḥ My lord, do not make the wife of Dro ṇ ācārya cry like me. I am aggrieved for the death of my sons. She need not cry constantly like me. Sympathetic good lady as she was, Śrīmatī Draupadī did not want to put the wife of Dro ṇ ācārya in the same position of childlessness, both from the point of motherly feelings and from the respectable position held by the wife of Dro ṇ ācārya.

TEXT 48 yai ḥ kopita ṁ brahma-kula ṁ rājanyair ajitātmabhi ḥ tat kula ṁ pradahaty āśu sānubandha ṁ śucārpitam If the kingly administrative order, being unrestricted in sense control, offends the brāhma ṇ a order and enrages them, then the fire of that rage burns up the whole body of the royal family and brings grief upon them all. The brāhma ṇ a order of society, or the spiritually advanced caste or community, and the members of such highly elevated families, were always held in great esteem by the other, subordinate castes, namely the administrative kingly order, the mercantile order and the laborers.

TEXT 49 sūta uvāca dharmya ṁ nyāyya ṁ sakaru ṇ a ṁ nirvyalīka ṁ sama ṁ mahat rājā dharma-suto rājñyā ḥ pratyanandad vaco dvijā ḥ Sūta Gosvāmī said: O brāhma ṇ as, King Yudhi ṣṭ hira 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 Yudhi ṣṭ hira, 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 Dro ṇ ācārya because of Arjuna’s learning the military science from him.  The wife of Dro ṇ ācārya, 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.

TEXT 50 nakula ḥ sahadevaś ca yuyudhāno dhanañjaya ḥ bhagavān devakī-putro ye cānye yāś ca yo ṣ ita ḥ Nakula and Sahadeva [the younger brothers of the King] and also Sātyaki, Arjuna, the Personality of Godhead Lord Sri K ṛṣṇ a, son of Devakī, and the ladies and others all unanimously agreed with the King.

TEXT 51 tatrāhāmar ṣ ito bhīmas tasya śreyān vadha ḥ sm ṛ ta ḥ na bhartur nātmanaś cārthe yo ’han suptān śiśūn v ṛ thā Bhīma, however, angrily disagreed with them and recommended killing this culprit, who had murdered sleeping children for no purpose and for neither his nor his master’s interest.