Shloka 37
भीष्म–जामदग्न्यसंवादः (Amba-prasaṅga and Kurukṣetra Dvandva Declaration) / Bhishma–Jamadagnya Dialogue
असकृच्चाब्रुवं राजन् शोकवेगपरिप्लुत: । अहो बत कृतं पापं मेयदं क्षत्रधर्मणा
asakṛc cābruvaṁ rājan śokavega-pariplutaḥ | aho bata kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ me yad aṁ kṣatradharmaṇā ||
Immer wieder sprach ich, o König, von der Woge des Kummers überflutet: „Weh mir! Welch Sünde ist dies, die ich begangen habe—begangen im Namen des kṣatriya-dharma, der Pflicht des Kriegers!“
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between prescribed social duty (kṣatriya-dharma) and personal conscience: actions justified as ‘duty’ can still be experienced as morally grievous, prompting remorse and self-scrutiny.
Rāma addresses a king and, repeatedly overcome by grief, laments that he has committed a sinful act—one carried out under the banner of warrior duty—revealing inner turmoil after a duty-bound deed.