Shloka 15
ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्
Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief
सौभद्रं द्रौपदेयांश्व घातयित्वा सुतान् प्रियान् । जयो5डयमजयाकारो भगवन् प्रतिभाति मे
saubhadraṁ draupadeyāṁś ca ghātayitvā sutān priyān | jayo 'yam ajayākāro bhagavan pratibhāti me ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O revered one, after causing the death of Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) and the sons of Draupadī—my beloved children—this victory appears to me in the very form of defeat. The kingdom won at such a cost feels ethically hollow, for it is stained by the loss of those dearest to us.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A triumph gained through catastrophic loss and adharma-like suffering can feel indistinguishable from defeat; true victory must be weighed against dharma, responsibility, and the human cost.
In the immediate aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments that the Pandavas’ success is overshadowed by the deaths of Abhimanyu and Draupadī’s sons, making the achieved kingship feel bitter and morally burdensome.