Shloka 14
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
व्यास उवाच मा विषादं कृथा राजन क्षत्रधर्ममनुस्मरन् । स्वधर्मेण हता द्ोते क्षत्रिया: क्षत्रियर्षभ
vyāsa uvāca mā viṣādaṁ kṛthā rājan kṣatradharmam anusmaran | svadharmeṇa hatā hy ete kṣatriyāḥ kṣatriyarṣabha ||
Vyāsa said: “O King, do not give way to grief while keeping the warrior’s duty in mind. O best of kṣatriyas, these warriors have been slain in accordance with their own dharma.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vyāsa urges the king to restrain grief by recalling kṣatriya-dharma: in a righteous war, death accepted in the line of one’s duty is framed as ‘according to svadharma,’ and thus should not become a cause for paralyzing remorse.
In Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, the king is overwhelmed by sorrow and moral anguish over the slaughter. Vyāsa addresses him directly, offering consolation and a dharma-based justification: the fallen warriors met death while engaged in the duty they themselves bore as kṣatriyas.