Shloka 24
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
प्रायोपविष्टं जानीध्वमथ मां गुरुघातिनम्
prāyopaviṣṭaṃ jānīdhvam atha māṃ gurughātinam
আমাকে প্রায়োপবেশন—মৃত্যু পর্যন্ত উপবাস—করতে সংকল্পবদ্ধ বলে জানো; আর আমাকে গুরুজন-হন্তা বলেও জেনো।
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.