Dushasana drags Draupadi to the Kaurava court and tries to disrobe her, but she surrenders to Krishna, who saves her from being shamed. But none in the august assembly has protested against Dushasana’s conduct, although many of them, like Bhishma, Drona and Kripacharya are well learned in the Sastras. They sit with their heads bent in shame. Draupadi questions their silence, said Kidambi Narayanan, in a discourse.
Dharma is not something visible to the eye. But it shows its presence, when righteous conduct eventually is rewarded, and wickedness is punished, says Draupadi. Those who know dharma, know this. It is said “ dharma eva hato hanti dharmo rakshati rakshitah.” What this means is that if a person tries to crush dharma, dharma hits back at him. If dharma is protected, then dharma protects the one who protected it. An assembly is respected only when great men are a part of it. What determines this greatness? They must be people who speak of dharma. What is dharma? Truth is dharma. What is Truth? That which lacks deceit is truth. Vidura says that Dushasana’s act is an insult to dharma. The learned men in the court hall criticise Dhritarashtra for remaining silent when such atrocious things happen in his court. Bhishma says in answer to Draupadi’s questions that dharma is not understood even by the educated.
In this world, sadly, might is right. When a rich man points to adharma and says it is dharma, the world does not question him, but accepts his words. Bhishma says that the Kaurava clan is soon going to be wiped out. Vidura says further that insulting a woman is even worse than gambling. The Kauravas have done something unthinkable, and they will lose everything they own. What is worse is Dhritarashtra not checking his sons, but allowing them to do as they please.
In Hinduism, dharma is one of the four components of the Puruṣārtha, the aims of life, and signifies behaviours that are considered to be in accord with Ṛta, the order that makes life and universe possible. It includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living".
the first verse speaks of the daily study of the Vedas (‘Vedho nithyamadheeyatham’). We shouldn’t ask what’s the benefit of reciting the Vedas. We have to perform duties as ordained in the Vedas. Hearing Vedic sound and inhaling the smoke of homa will cleanse our sins. We have to try to develop knowledge of the soul.
The second verse concerns “sathsangam” — the benefit of being in the company of good people. Sage Narada says in the Bhakti Sutram that only the company of pious people will help develop bhakti and help us cross the sea of samsara. It is said that we should never be perfidious to the pious.
The third verse speaks of renouncing pride and giving up delusory misconceptions (vaakyarthascha vicharyatham). Let us try to think “I am Brahmam” and forsake the belief that “I am the body”.
The fourth verse says to live in contentment, not beg for delicious food, and swallow daily the medicine that’s in the form of alms (kshudh vyadischa).
The last verse points to quietening one’s mind in the Supreme Lord (ekanthe sukham aasyathem). Let us fix our mind in the ultimate truth of the soul, Brahmashree Sundarkumar said in a discourse.
Dharma-sutra, (Sanskrit: “righteousness thread”) any of several manuals of human conduct that form the earliest source of Hindu.law. They consist chiefly of sutras (“threads” or “strings”) of terse rules containing the essentials of law concerning interpersonal relations and the relationship between people and the state. The maxims deal with the practical rules of caste and of human beings in their social, economic, and religious relations. Formulated in prose, they were intended to be committed to memory and expounded orally by teachers—thus forming, as it were, epitomes of class lectures. Eventually these rules came to be interspersed with stanzaic verses in various metres, each generally giving the substance of the rule immediately preceding it. The verses themselves became increasingly popular and ultimately led to the appearance of works entirely in verse. These metrical versions of previously existing Dharma-sutras came to be called Dharma shastras though in modern times that term more commonly is used to denote the whole body of customary rules and observances governing Hindu religious and social life. that set of obligations incumbent on each as a member of one of the four social classes and engaged in one of the four stages of life . It contains 12 chapters of stanzas, which total 2,694. It deals with cosmogony; the definition of the dharma; the sacraments; initiation and the study of the Vedas (the sacred texts of Hinduism); marriage, hospitality, funeral rites, dietary restrictions, pollution, and means of purification; the conduct of women and wives; and the law of kings. The last leads to a consideration of matters of juridical interest, divided under 18 headings, after which the text returns to religious topics such as charity, rites of reparation, the doctrine of karma the soul and hell. The text makes no categorical distinction between religious law and practices and secular law. Its influence on all aspects of Hindu thought, particularly the justification of the caste system, has been profound.
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