Shloka 28
सूक्ष्मो धर्मो दुर्विदश्षापि पार्थ विशेषतोऊज्जै: प्रोच्यमानं निबोध । हत्वा55त्मानमात्मना प्राप्तुयास्त्वं वधाद् भ्रातुर्नरक॑ चातिघोरम्,“कुन्तीनन्दन! धर्मका स्वरूप सूक्ष्म है। उसको जानना या समझना बहुत कठिन है। विशेषत: अज्ञानी पुरुषोंके लिये तो उसका जानना और भी मुश्किल है। अब मैं जो कुछ कहता हूँ उसे ध्यान देकर सुनो, भाईका वध करनेसे जिस अत्यन्त घोर नरककी प्राप्ति होती है, उससे भी भयानक नरक तुम्हें स्वयं ही अपनी हत्या करनेसे प्राप्त हो सकता है
sañjaya uvāca | sūkṣmo dharmo durvidyaḥ api pārtha viśeṣata uccaiḥ procyamānaṃ nibodha | hatvā ātmānam ātmanā prāpnuyās tvaṃ vadhād bhrātur narakaṃ cāti-ghoram |
Sanjaya said: “Dharma is subtle and difficult to discern, O Partha—especially for those who lack true understanding. Therefore listen carefully to what I declare with emphasis: if you were to kill yourself by your own hand, you could fall into a hell even more dreadful than the exceedingly terrible hell incurred by slaying one’s own brother.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not always obvious; it requires careful discernment. The verse stresses that self-killing (ātmahatyā) is portrayed as a grave moral transgression, potentially leading to consequences even worse than those associated with killing one’s own brother.
Sanjaya addresses Partha (Arjuna), urging him to listen attentively as he explains a difficult point about dharma and warns that taking one’s own life can be an even more dreadful path than the already horrific sin of fratricide.