Shloka 28
ऋषिसमागमः — युधिष्ठिरस्य शोकवर्णनम्
Sage Assembly and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Articulation of Grief
अपि पश्चादिदं मातर्यवोचदिति न: श्रुतम् । न हि शक्ष्याम्यहं त्यक्तुं नूपं दुर्योधनं रणे
api paścād idaṃ mātary avocad iti naḥ śrutam | na hi śakṣyāmy ahaṃ tyaktuṃ nūpaṃ duryodhanaṃ raṇe
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Have we ever heard that, afterwards, one spoke such words to one’s mother? For I will not be able to abandon Duryodhana—like a steadfast pillar—in the midst of battle.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical restraint in speech—especially regarding one’s mother—and frames battlefield conduct as bound by dharma: even amid conflict, one should not violate fundamental norms of respect and propriety.
Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in a reflective, moralizing tone, invoking what is ‘heard’ or accepted as proper tradition. He asserts that he cannot bring himself to abandon Duryodhana in battle, describing him metaphorically as a firm ‘pillar,’ underscoring the gravity and steadfastness expected in the martial context.