Shloka 24
यही सोचते-सोचते महातेजस्वी युधिष्ठिरने अपने सब भाइयोंसे कहा--'पुरुषसिंहो! महर्षि व्यासने मुझसे जो कहा है, उसे तुमलोगोंने सुना है न? उनकी वह बात सुनकर मैंने मरनेका निश्चय कर लिया है। तात! यदि समस्त क्षत्रियोंके विनाशमें विधाताने मुझे ही निमित्त बनानेकी इच्छा की है, कालने मुझे ही इस अनर्थका कारण बनाया है तो मेरे जीवनका क्या प्रयोजन है?” राजाकी ऐसी बातें सुनकर अर्जुनने उत्तर दिया-- || २१-- २३ || मा राजन् कश्मलं घोर प्रविशो बुद्धिनाशनम् । सम्प्रधार्य महाराज यत् क्षेमं तत् समाचर,“राजन्! इस भयंकर मोहमें न पड़िये, यह बुद्धिको नष्ट करनेवाला है। महाराज! अच्छी तरह सोच-विचारकर आपको जो कल्याणप्रद जान पड़े, वह कीजिये”
vaiśampāyana uvāca | evaṃ cintayann eva mahātejā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ sarvān bhrātṝn uvāca— “puruṣasiṃhāḥ! maharṣir vyāso mayi yad avadat tat yuṣmābhir api śrutam eva. tasya vacanaṃ śrutvāhaṃ maraṇe niścayaṃ kṛtavān. tāta! yadi sarvakṣatriyavināśe vidhātā mām eva nimittaṃ kartum icchati, kālo mām evāsya anarthasya kāraṇaṃ kṛtavān, tarhi mama jīvitena kiṃ prayojanam?” iti rājñaḥ vacanaṃ śrutvā arjuna uvāca— “mā rājan kaśmalaṃ ghoraṃ praviśo buddhināśanam. sampradhārya mahārāja yat kṣemaṃ tat samācara.”
Vaiśampāyana said: As he kept turning these thoughts over, the radiant Yudhiṣṭhira addressed all his brothers: “O lion-like men! You have heard what the great sage Vyāsa told me. Having heard his words, I have resolved to die. Dear ones—if the Ordainer wishes to make me the very instrument for the destruction of all kṣatriyas, if Time has made me the cause of this calamity, then what purpose is served by my life?” Hearing the king speak thus, Arjuna replied: “O King, do not enter this dreadful despair that destroys discernment. Reflect carefully, O great king, and do what leads to welfare.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna warns that despair (kaśmala) is not merely emotion but a force that ruins judgment (buddhināśana). The ethical directive is to deliberate calmly (sampradhārya) and choose the course that leads to true welfare (kṣema), rather than acting from guilt or fatalism.
Yudhiṣṭhira, shaken by Vyāsa’s words and the prospect of widespread kṣatriya destruction, interprets himself as the instrument of fate and resolves on death. Arjuna counters by urging him not to succumb to mental collapse and to act after careful reflection on what is beneficial and right.