Shloka 30
Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti
कि पुनश्नात्मनो लोकानुत्तमानुत्तमैर्गुणै: । तदस्य तप्यमानस्य ज्ञातीनां संक्षयेन वै
ki punaśnātmano lokān uttamān uttamaiḥ guṇaiḥ | tad asya tapyamānasya jñātīnāṃ saṃkṣayeṇa vai
Vaiśampāyana said: “What then of the highest worlds one might win for oneself through the noblest virtues? Yet for him, as he burned with remorse, the destruction of his own kinsmen alone became the cause of his anguish.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the promise of exalted rewards gained through virtue can be eclipsed by the moral and emotional burden of harming one’s own people; the verse highlights the ethical weight of kin-slaying and the torment it produces.
Vaiśampāyana comments on a person who is inwardly tormented; despite talk of attaining the highest realms through excellent qualities, his mind is consumed by the loss and destruction of his relatives.