Shloka 11
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
ये जो हमारे सगे-सम्बन्धी मारे गये हैं, इनका परित्याग तो हमें समस्त पृथ्वी, राशि- राशि सुवर्ण और समूचे गाय-घोड़े पाकर भी नहीं करना चाहिये था
ye no 'smākaṃ saga-sambandhino hatāḥ, teṣāṃ parityāgo naivāsmābhiḥ kartavya āsīt; sarvāṃ pṛthivīṃ prāpya, rāśi-rāśi suvarṇaṃ prāpya, samagrān gāvaś ca aśvāṃś ca prāpya api
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Those who were our own kinsmen have been slain. Even if we had gained the whole earth, heaps upon heaps of gold, and all the cattle and horses, we should never have consented to abandoning them. Such gains cannot make good the loss of one’s own relations.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Material gain—sovereignty, wealth, and possessions—cannot morally compensate for the abandonment or destruction of one’s own kin; dharma places relational duty and ethical accountability above profit.
In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments the death of his relatives and reflects that even the greatest worldly rewards would not have justified the course that led to their loss.