Shloka 12
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
अहं हि समरे वीर गमित: शत्रुभि: क्षयम् । अभविष्यं यदि पुरा सह भ्रातृभिरच्युत,न त्वामेवं सुदुः:खार्तमद्राक्षं सायकार्दितम् । अपनी मर्यादासे कभी नीचे न गिरनेवाले वीरवर! यदि भाइयोंसहित मैं शत्रुओंद्वारा पहले ही युद्धमें मार डाला गया होता तो आपको इस प्रकार सायकोंसे पीड़ित और अत्यन्त दुःखसे आतुर अवस्थामें नहीं देखता
ahaṁ hi samare vīra gamitaḥ śatrubhiḥ kṣayam | abhaviṣyaṁ yadi purā saha bhrātṛbhir acyuta, na tvām evaṁ suduḥkhārtam adrākṣaṁ sāyakārditam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O hero, steadfast in your own bounds of honor! If, long ago, I had already been brought to destruction in battle by the enemy—together with my brothers—then I would not have had to see you in this state: pierced by arrows and overwhelmed by unbearable sorrow.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds ethical anguish and responsibility after violence: Yudhiṣṭhira laments that his survival has led to the unbearable sight of Krishna suffering. It highlights the dharmic sensitivity that even a righteous war leaves moral pain, and that one should feel accountable for the suffering of those who supported one’s cause.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Krishna (Acyuta), imagining a counterfactual: had he and his brothers died earlier in battle, he would not be witnessing Krishna now—wounded by arrows and distressed. The line expresses remorse and sorrow in the aftermath of the great conflict.