Shloka 34
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
अवध्यानां वध कृत्वा लोके प्राप्ता: सम वाच्यताम् कुलस्यास्यान्तकरणं दुर्मतिं पापपूरुषम्
avadhyānāṁ vadhaṁ kṛtvā loke prāptāḥ sama-vācyatām | kulasyāsyāntakaraṇaṁ durmatiṁ pāpa-pūruṣam ||
قال يودهيشثيرا: «إذ قتلنا من لا يجوز قتلهم، صار الناس في العالم يذكروننا كأننا أمثالهم. لقد دمّرنا هذه السلالة، وأصبحنا ذوي فهمٍ فاسد—أناسًا آثمين.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when violence is justified by duty, the ethical weight of killing—especially of those deemed ‘not to be slain’—can generate profound moral anguish; dharma is not merely victory, but accountability for harm and the ruin of one’s own lineage.
In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments that the Pāṇḍavas have killed persons who should not have been killed and, by destroying their own kin-group, have earned a reputation comparable to the very wrongdoers they opposed.