Shloka 37
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
त्वं तु शुक्लाभिजातीय: परदोषेण कारित: । अनिच्छमान: कर्मेदं कृत्वा च परितप्यसे
tvaṃ tu śuklābhijātīyaḥ paradoṣeṇa kāritaḥ | anicchamānaḥ karmedaṃ kṛtvā ca paritapyase ||
But you are of a pure and noble disposition. It was only because of the enemy’s wrongdoing that you were driven into this course of action. Though you had no desire for it, you have carried out this deed of war—and even after doing so, you continue to burn with remorse.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral agency is shaped by both inner disposition and external provocation: a person of pure intent may be forced into harsh action by others’ wrongdoing, yet still feel ethical pain afterward. The verse highlights the tension between necessary duty and the lingering remorse that follows violence.
Vyāsa addresses a warrior figure, characterizing him as naturally pure and unwilling to fight. He explains that the war-action occurred not from personal desire but because the opponents’ faults compelled it, and that the speaker’s addressee continues to repent even after performing the deed.