Shloka 66
Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)
न हि संतप्यते तेन तथारूपेण कर्मणा । दुर्बुद्धि दुर्योधन सदा धर्म और लोकाचारको छोड़कर ही चलता है; परंतु इस प्रकार धर्म और लोकके विरुद्ध कार्य करके भी वह उससे संतप्त नहीं होता
na hi santapyate tena tathārūpeṇa karmaṇā | durbuddhi duryodhanaḥ sadā dharmaṃ ca lokācāraṃ ca tyaktvaiva carati; parantu evaṃ dharma-loka-virodhinaṃ karma kṛtvāpi sa tena na santapyate |
Arjuna sagte: „Er wird durch ein solches Verhalten und solche Taten keineswegs gequält. Der übelgesinnte Duryodhana handelt stets erst, nachdem er Dharma und die anerkannten Sitten der Welt beiseitegeworfen hat; und doch empfindet er, selbst wenn er gegen Recht und soziale Ordnung handelt, keinerlei Reue.“
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key ethical warning: wrongdoing becomes especially dangerous when it is accompanied by shamelessness and lack of remorse. To abandon both dharma (moral duty) and lokācāra (social norms) and still feel no inner pain indicates hardened moral blindness, making reconciliation and self-correction difficult.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and assessments of character, Arjuna comments on Duryodhana’s disposition. He observes that Duryodhana repeatedly violates righteousness and accepted conduct, yet remains untroubled—an argument that Duryodhana is unlikely to be restrained by counsel or conscience.