Shloka 30
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
धर्मव्युच्छित्तिमिच्छन्तो ये<धर्मस्य प्रवर्तका: । हन्तव्यास्ते दुरात्मानो देवैर्देत्या इवोल्बणा:
dharmavyucchittim icchanto ye 'dharmasya pravartakāḥ | hantavyās te durātmāno devair daityā ivolbaṇāḥ ||
Those who seek the destruction of dharma—though they pose as promoters of righteousness—are wicked at heart. Such men must be restrained and, if necessary, destroyed, just as the gods struck down the fierce Dāityas.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that the gravest threat comes from those who outwardly claim to uphold dharma but actually aim to undermine it; such agents of adharma must be decisively checked for the protection of moral and social order.
Vyāsa states a principle of governance and ethics: when people deliberately work to extinguish dharma—especially while masquerading as its champions—they should be treated as dangerous enemies, comparable to the Dāityas whom the gods had to subdue.