Shloka 3
Virūpākṣa’s Dāna and Gautama’s Burden — the approach of Rājadharma
नृशंसो दह्दाते नित्यं प्रेत्य चेह च भारत । तस्मात् त्वं ब्रूहि कौरव्य तस्य धर्मविनिश्चयम्,भारत! कुरुनन्दन! नृशंस मनुष्य इसलोक और परलोकमें भी सदा ही शोककी आगसे जलता रहता है; अतः आप मुझे नृशंस मनुष्य और उसके धर्म-कर्मका यथार्थ परिचय दीजिये
nṛśaṃso dahyate nityaṃ pretya ceha ca bhārata | tasmāt tvaṃ brūhi kauravya tasya dharmaviniścayam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Bhārata, ein grausamer Mensch wird immerfort verzehrt — hier in dieser Welt und auch nach dem Tod. Darum, o Kauravya, sage mir die wahre Bestimmung seines Dharma: Worin bestehen Verhalten und sittliches Gesetz des nṛśaṃsa (des Erbarmungslosen), und wie ist es zu verstehen?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Cruelty is self-destructive: the ruthless person suffers continual inner burning—here and after death. Hence one should understand and avoid nṛśaṃsatā (pitilessness) and seek a clear determination of dharma that restrains harm.
In the Śānti Parva’s ethical instruction setting, Yudhiṣṭhira questions an elder teacher about the nature of the cruel person and asks for a definitive account of that person’s dharma/behavioral pattern, motivated by the claim that such a person suffers in both worlds.