Draupadi appeals to the sabha and Bhishma pleads inability
Dragged into the sabha, Draupadi cries out against the transgression of dharma. The eldest elder, Bhishma, is asked to judge. He pleads the subtlety of dharma and his own inability to decide, citing Yudhishthira’s own word that he was won. Draupadi rejects this, arguing her husband was deceived, but receives no definitive answer.
Dragged into the center of the sabha, Draupadi’s cry was a piteous indictment. “Shame! The descendants of the Bharata lineage have lost their dharma… All the Kurus in this sabha have witnessed the transgression. There is certainly no longer substance in Drona, Bhishma and in this great-souled one. The foremost among the elders have chosen to ignore this terrible transgression.”
Her appeal hung in the air, directed at the very men she named.
Bhishma, the patriarch, finally spoke. “O fortunate one! Since the ways of dharma are subtle, I cannot properly resolve the question you have posed.” He laid out the dilemma. A man without property cannot stake the property of others. But women are always the property of their husbands. Yudhishthira would abandon the entire earth before he gave up truth—and the Pandava had himself said he had been won. Therefore, Bhishma could not resolve it. Furthermore, Shakuni was unmatched at dice, and Yudhishthira had played with him voluntarily. The great-souled one did not think Shakuni had resorted to deceit. “Therefore, I cannot answer the question.”
Draupadi replied, cutting through the legal subtlety. “Though he is himself unskilled, the king was challenged in this sabha by those who are skilled, evil-minded and deceitful. How can it be said he chose voluntarily? The pure-hearted and foremost one among the Kurus and the Pandavas was robbed of his senses by inclinations towards deceit. He has understood everything only after he has been won and after the gambling is over.”
She turned her appeal to the whole assembly. “In this hall are Kurus who are the lords of their sons and daughters-in-law. Let all of them examine my words and answer my question in the appropriate way.”
The question remained. The elders sat in silence. No one gave her the answer she sought.