Shloka 26
चारवक उवाच इमे प्राहुर्द्धिजा: सर्वे समारोप्य वचो मयि । धिग् भवन्तं कुनृपतिं ज्ञातिघातिनमस्तु वै,चार्वाक बोला--राजन्! ये सब ब्राह्मण मुझपर अपनी बात कहनेका भार रखकर मेरेद्वारा ही तुमसे कह रहे हैं--“कुन्तीनन्दन! तुम अपने भाई-बन्धुओंका वध करनेवाले एक दुष्ट राजा हो। तुम्हें धिक्कार है! ऐसे पुरुषके जीवनसे क्या लाभ? इस प्रकार यह बन्धु- बान्धवोंका विनाश करके गुरुजनोंकी हत्या करवाकर तो तुम्हारा मर जाना ही अच्छा है, जीवित रहना नहीं”
cārvāka uvāca | ime prāhur dvijāḥ sarve samāropya vaco mayi | dhig bhavantaṃ kunṛpatiṃ jñātighātinam astu vai ||
Cārvāka said: “O King! All these twice-born brāhmaṇas, placing their words upon me, declare this: ‘Fie upon you, O base king—one who has slain his own kinsmen! Shame on you indeed.’”
चारवक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical stigma of kin-slaying and the vulnerability of a ruler’s moral legitimacy to public/religious censure—especially when blame and speech are strategically ‘placed upon’ another to intensify condemnation.
Cārvāka speaks as if voicing the Brahmins’ judgment, claiming they have put their words on him and that they denounce the king as an ignoble ruler and a slayer of his own relatives—an accusation aimed at shaming the newly victorious ruler in the war’s aftermath.