Shloka 27
शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma
कि तेन स्याद्धि कौन्तेय कृत्वेमं ज्ञातिसंक्षयम् । घातयित्वा गुरूंश्वैव मृतं श्रेयो न जीवितम्,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”
ki tena syād dhi kaunteya kṛtvemaṁ jñātisaṁkṣayam | ghātayitvā gurūṁś caiva mṛtaṁ śreyo na jīvitam ||
Cārvāka said: “O son of Kuntī, what good can come of this? Having brought about the destruction of your own kinsmen, and having caused even your elders and teachers to be slain, it would be better for you to be dead than to go on living.”
चारवक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse dramatizes a harsh ethical accusation: after fratricidal war and the death of revered elders/teachers, mere survival can feel morally empty. It foregrounds the tension between political victory and dharmic accountability, pushing the listener to confront responsibility, remorse, and the need for moral restoration.
Cārvāka addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (Kaunteya) with a condemnatory challenge, portraying him as responsible for the destruction of his own kin and the killing of gurus/elders, and declaring that death would be preferable to life after such deeds. This forms part of the post-war atmosphere of blame and grief in the Śānti Parva.