Shloka 4
कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्
Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule
न तत् कारणमल्पं वै धर्मज्ञा यत्र पाण्डवा: | अवध्यान् सर्वशो जघ्नु: प्रशस्यन्ते च मानवै:,सब मनुष्योंद्वारा जिनकी प्रशंसा की जाती है, उन धर्मज्ञ पाण्डवोंने जो युद्धभूमिमें समस्त अवध्य सैनिकोंका भी वध किया था, इसका कोई छोटा या साधारण कारण नहीं हो सकता
na tat kāraṇam alpaṃ vai dharmajñā yatra pāṇḍavāḥ | avadhyān sarvaśo jaghnuḥ praśasyante ca mānavaiḥ ||
Janamejaya sprach: „Gewiss kann die Ursache hierfür nicht gering sein—denn die Pāṇḍavas, berühmt als Kenner des Dharma und von den Menschen gepriesen, erschlugen auf dem Schlachtfeld dennoch sogar jene, die in jeder Hinsicht als ‚nicht zu töten‘ galten.“
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension: even those celebrated as dharma-knowers may commit acts that appear to violate ethical limits (killing the ‘avadhya’). Such a contradiction implies a grave, complex cause—inviting inquiry into hidden duties, circumstances, or larger dharmic compulsions behind violent action.
Janamejaya, hearing about the Pandavas’ conduct in war, expresses astonishment: they are publicly praised and known for dharma, yet they killed persons described as ‘not to be slain.’ He concludes that the reason behind this cannot be trivial and implicitly asks for the deeper explanation.