Mahabharata — Stree Parva, Shloka 18

स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च

Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation

Devanagari script

नूनं व्यपकृतं किंचिन्मया पूर्वेषु जन्मसु

Transliteration

nūnaṃ vyapakṛtaṃ kiñcin mayā pūrveṣu janmasu

Translation

Gewiss muss ich in früheren Geburten irgendein Unrecht begangen haben; wegen jener vergangenen Schuld ist nun dieses erdrückende Unheil über mich gekommen.

Word by Word

• नूनम्: surely, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम्

• व्यपकृतम्: wrongdoing, misdeed
• व्यपकृतम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यपकृत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• किञ्चित्: something, some
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किञ्चित्

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Common, Instrumental, Singular

• पूर्वेषु: in former (earlier)
• पूर्वेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• जन्मसु: births, lives
• जन्मसु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse expresses the Mahābhārata’s karmic ethic: present suffering is often interpreted as the fruit of prior wrongdoing, prompting self-examination and moral accountability rather than mere blame of others.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of Strī Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, overwhelmed by the catastrophe that has befallen his family after the war, turns inward and attributes his misery to some sin committed in previous lives.