Shloka 3
अर्जुन श्रीकृष्णके कहनेसे युधिष्ठिरके प्रति जो तिरस्कारपूर्ण वचन बोले थे, इसके कारण वे मन-ही-मन ऐसे उदास हो गये थे मानो कोई पाप कर बैठे हों ।। ततोअब्रवीद् वासुदेव: प्रहसन्निव पाण्डवम् । कथं नाम भवेदेतद् यदि त्वं पार्थ धर्मजम्,उनकी यह अवस्था देख भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण हँसते हुए-से उन पाण्डुकुमारसे बोले --'पार्थ! तुम तो राजाके प्रति केवल “तू” कह देनेमात्रसे ही इस प्रकार शोकमें डूब गये हो। फिर यदि धर्ममें स्थित रहनेवाले धर्मकुमार युधिष्ठिरको तीखी धारवाले तलवारसे मार डालते, तब तुम्हारी दशा कैसी हो जाती?
tato 'bravīd vāsudevaḥ prahasann iva pāṇḍavam | kathaṃ nāma bhaved etad yadi tvaṃ pārtha dharmajam ||
Then Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), as though smiling, spoke to the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna): “How can this be, Pārtha? If you are plunged into grief merely for having addressed the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) with an overly familiar ‘you,’ what would your condition be if you had truly slain Dharmarāja—Yudhiṣṭhira, steadfast in dharma—with a sharp-edged sword?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a small breach of respect toward a righteous elder/king can weigh heavily on a conscientious person; Kṛṣṇa highlights proportionality and self-awareness—if mere harsh speech causes such remorse, one must be vigilant not to let anger drive one toward truly adharma actions.
After Arjuna has spoken contemptuously to Yudhiṣṭhira at Kṛṣṇa’s prompting, he becomes inwardly dejected as if guilty of sin. Seeing this, Kṛṣṇa addresses Arjuna with a half-smile, pointing out how deeply Arjuna grieves over a minor disrespect and rhetorically asks how he would fare if he had actually killed dharma-abiding Yudhiṣṭhira.