Shloka 8
आसन सुव्रीडिता राजन् सात्यकिस्त्वब्रवीदिदम् । राजन! उस समय युधिष्ठिर, भीमसेन, नकुल, सहदेव, भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण तथा अन्य लोग भी अत्यन्त लज्जित हो चुप ही बैठे रहे, परंतु सात्यकि इस प्रकार बोल उठे-- ।। ७६ || नेहास्ति पुरुष: कश्चिद् य इमं पापपूरुषम्
sañjaya uvāca | āsan suvrīḍitā rājan sātyakis tv abravīd idam | rājann! us samay yudhiṣṭhira, bhīmasena, nakula, sahadeva, bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇa tathā anya log bhī atyanta lajjit ho cup hī baiṭhe rahe, parantu sātyaki is prakār bol uṭhe || neha asti puruṣaḥ kaścid ya imaṃ pāpapuruṣam
Sañjaya said: O King, all sat there overwhelmed with shame and silence—Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīmasena, Nakula, Sahadeva, and even Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, along with the others. But Sātyaki, unable to endure the moral humiliation of the moment, rose to speak: “Here there is no man who would accept this sinful person…”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical accountability in a crisis: when even great leaders fall silent out of shame, a righteous voice may need to break the silence to oppose wrongdoing. It frames moral courage as speaking up against a 'pāpapuruṣa' when collective hesitation threatens dharma.
In the aftermath of a morally charged exchange in the war setting, the Pāṇḍava leaders and Kṛṣṇa sit in embarrassed silence. Sātyaki, unable to accept the situation, begins a forceful statement—introducing a rebuke that starts with 'There is no one here who...' regarding a 'sinful man,' indicating an imminent condemnation.