Shloka 6
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
युधिष्ठिर उवाच पक्षपातो महानस्या विशेषेण धनंजये । तस्यैतत् फलमपद्यैषा भुड्क्ते पुरुषसत्तम,युधिष्ठिरने कहा--पुरुषप्रवर! उसके मनमें अर्जुनके प्रति विशेष पक्षपात था; आज यह उसीका फल भोग रही है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | pakṣapāto mahān asyā viśeṣeṇa dhanañjaye | tasyaitat phalam āpadya eṣā bhuṅkte puruṣasattama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O best of men, she bore a great partiality—especially toward Dhanañjaya (Arjuna). Having incurred that, she now endures its consequence.”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even subtle favoritism within one’s duties and relationships can carry ethical weight; in the Mahābhārata’s karmic framework, partiality (pakṣapāta) yields consequences (phala) that must be borne, underscoring the ideal of impartial dharma.
During the Pandavas’ final journey (mahāprasthāna), Yudhiṣṭhira explains why a woman companion falls/comes to grief: he attributes it to her strong partiality, particularly toward Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), and says she is now experiencing the result of that bias.