Shloka 31
स तांस्तु दृष्टवा भृशमार्तरूपो युधिष्ठिरो धर्मभृतां वरिष्ठ: । उच्चै: प्रचुक्रोश च कौरवाग्रय: पपात चोर्व्या सगणो विसंज्ञ:
sa tāṁstu dṛṣṭvā bhṛśamārtarūpo yudhiṣṭhiro dharmabhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ | uccaiḥ pracukrośa ca kauravāgryaḥ papāta corvyā sagaṇo visaṁjñaḥ ||
Seeing them thus, Yudhiṣṭhira—foremost among the upholders of dharma—was overwhelmed with acute anguish. The chief of the Kaurus cried out loudly and, together with his attendants, collapsed upon the earth, senseless. The verse underscores how even the most steadfastly righteous are shaken when confronted with the catastrophic moral and human cost of war.
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and psychological weight of violence: even Yudhiṣṭhira, renowned as the foremost upholder of dharma, is devastated by what he sees. It suggests that righteousness does not make one immune to grief; rather, moral sensitivity can deepen one’s anguish when confronted with the consequences of adharma and war.
In the Sauptika Parva’s aftermath, Yudhiṣṭhira sees the dreadful scene before him (the slain and the ruin). Struck by intense sorrow, he cries out loudly and collapses to the ground unconscious, along with those around him.