Shloka 7
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
प्राडमुखं सीदमानं च रथे पररथारुजम् । घूर्णमानं यथा शैलं तदा मे कश्मलो5भवत्,जो शत्रुदलके रथियोंको पीड़ा देनेमें समर्थ थे, वे पूर्वकी ओर मुँह करके चुपचाप बैठे हुए बाणोंका आघात सह रहे थे और जैसे पर्वत हिल रहा हो, उसी प्रकार झूम रहे थे। उस समय उनकी यह अवस्था देखकर मुझे मूर्छा-सी आ गयी थी
prāḍmukhaṃ sīdamānaṃ ca rathe pararathārujam | ghūrṇamānaṃ yathā śailaṃ tadā me kaśmalo 'bhavat ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “When I saw him on his chariot—his face turned toward the east, sinking into helplessness, enduring the assault of arrows—swaying like a mountain that trembles, then a sudden moral and emotional collapse seized me. Seeing the one who could afflict the enemy’s chariot-warriors reduced to such a state, my mind was overwhelmed with faintness and confusion.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how witnessing the fall or suffering of a powerful warrior can trigger kaśmala—an inner collapse marked by grief and ethical disorientation. It frames Yudhiṣṭhira’s later dharma-inquiry: true righteousness must be sought when the mind is shaken by the consequences of violence, even when war was fought under duty.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls seeing a formidable fighter on a chariot, turned eastward, silently enduring a barrage of arrows and swaying as if a mountain were trembling. That sight overwhelms him, and he experiences faintness and confusion (kaśmala), setting the emotional ground for his reflections in Śānti Parva.