Shloka 24

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)

Devanagari script

प्रायोपविष्टं जानीध्वमथ मां गुरुघातिनम्‌

Transliteration

prāyopaviṣṭaṃ jānīdhvam atha māṃ gurughātinam

Translation

اعلموا أنني قد عزمتُ على الصوم حتى الموت—واعلموا أيضًا أنني قاتلُ شيوخي وأساتذتي من ذوي الحرمة.

Word by Word

• प्रायोपविष्टम्: one who has sat down for fasting unto death
• प्रायोपविष्टम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रायोपविष्ट (प्राय + उपविष्ट)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• जानीध्वम्: know (you all), understand
• जानीध्वम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा
• Form: Imperative, Second, Plural, Parasmaipada

• अथ: then/now/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: Common, Accusative, Singular

• गुरुघातिनम्: slayer of (one's) teacher/elder
• गुरुघातिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरुघातिन् (गुरु + घातिन्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a righteous cause can leave moral residue when it involves violence against revered elders and teachers; Yudhiṣṭhira’s words highlight accountability, remorse, and the dharmic impulse toward atonement rather than self-justifying triumph.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks from a place of grief and self-condemnation, declaring that he has undertaken (or is resolved upon) fasting unto death and identifying himself as guilty of killing ‘gurus’—a way of naming the unbearable ethical weight of the conflict.