Shloka 126
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief, Kṛṣṇa’s Consolation, and Vyāsa’s Admonition (युधिष्ठिरशोक-निवारणोपदेशः)
(नृशंस: पुरुषव्याप्रं गुरु वीर्यबलान्वितम् ।) कर्ण च पुरुषव्याप्रं संग्रामेष्वपलायिनम् । मैं क्रूरतापूर्वक पितामह भीष्मको
nṛśaṁsaḥ puruṣavyāghraṁ guruṁ vīryabalānvitam | karṇaṁ ca puruṣavyāghraṁ saṅgrāmeṣv apalāyinam |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Having caused the death of Bhīṣma, and of Droṇa—my revered teacher, a lion among men endowed with might and strength—and of Karṇa, the foremost of men who never turned away from battle, I cannot ever attain peace after such ruthless deeds.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war is fought under the banner of duty, the moral weight of killing revered elders and teachers can haunt the conscience; inner peace requires ethical reckoning, not merely victory.
In the Ashvamedhika Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the war’s cost and laments that, having brought about the deaths of Bhīṣma, his teacher Droṇa, and the steadfast warrior Karṇa, he cannot feel peace because the acts seem ruthless to him.