Shloka 82
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
सम्मानित: पार्थिवो5यं सदैव त्वया च भीमेन तथा यमाभ्याम् | वृद्धैश्व लोके पुरुषैश्न शूरै- स्तस्यापमानं कलया प्रयुड्क्षय,तुमने, भीमसेनने, नकुल-सहदेवने तथा अन्य वृद्ध पुरुषों एवं शूरवीरोंने जगतमें राजा युधिष्ठिरका सदा सम्मान किया है; किंतु इस समय तुम उनका थोड़ा-सा अपमान कर दो
sammānitaḥ pārthivo ’yaṃ sadaiva tvayā ca bhīmena tathā yamābhyām | vṛddhaiś ca loke puruṣaiś ca śūrais tasya apamānaṃ kalayā prayuṅkṣva ||
Vāyu-deva said: “This king has always been honored by you, by Bhīma, and by the twin sons of Yama; and likewise by the elders and the heroic men of the world. Yet now, for the sake of what must be done, inflict upon him a slight measure of humiliation.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between honoring a righteous king and using controlled, minimal humiliation as a strategic or corrective act. It implies that even ethically troubling actions should be limited in measure and undertaken with awareness of the person’s established dignity.
Vāyu-deva addresses a listener (implicitly one of the Pāṇḍavas) and reminds him that Yudhiṣṭhira has always been respected by his brothers and by the world’s elders and heroes. Despite this, Vāyu urges that, at this moment, Yudhiṣṭhira should be subjected to a slight humiliation—suggesting a deliberate provocation or pressure within the wartime situation.