Shloka 3
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
कदा वयं करिष्याम: संन्यासं दुःखसंज्ञकम् | दुःखमेतच्छरीराणां धारणं कुरुसत्तम,कुरुश्रेष्ठी संसारी मनुष्य जिसे दुःख कहते हैं, उस संन्यासका अवलम्बन हमलोग कब करेंगे? हमें तो इन शरीरोंका धारण करना ही दुःख जान पड़ता है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kadā vayaṁ kariṣyāmaḥ saṁnyāsaṁ duḥkhasaṁjñakam | duḥkham etac charīrāṇāṁ dhāraṇaṁ kurusattama ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “When shall we undertake renunciation—so called because it is bound up with suffering? For to bear these bodies itself seems to me a suffering, O best of the Kurus.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames embodied existence as inherently burdensome and points toward saṁnyāsa (renunciation) as a response to pervasive duḥkha. It signals an ethical turn from external action to inner release—questioning when it is appropriate to lay down worldly striving and seek liberation-oriented discipline.
In the Śānti Parva’s post-war reflective setting, Yudhiṣṭhira voices weariness with worldly life and the pain of sustaining the body. Addressing a revered Kuru elder (kurusattama), he asks when they will adopt renunciation, indicating his growing inclination toward ascetic counsel and liberation-focused dharma.