Shloka 15
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
यदि स्वस्ति प्रजायन्ते जाता जीवन्ति वा यदि | सम्भाविता जातबलास्ते दद्युर्यदि न: सुखम्
yadi svasti prajāyante jātā jīvanti vā yadi | sambhāvitā jātabalās te dadyur yadi naḥ sukham ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “If they are born in well-being, and if, once born, they indeed live; if they are honored and grow strong—then, perhaps, they might grant us happiness.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames happiness as contingent on the flourishing of life under auspicious conditions—birth, survival, honor, and strength—implying that well-being arises from sustaining and dignifying living beings rather than from mere power or possession.
In the reflective atmosphere of Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in conditional, searching terms, weighing whether the prospering and strengthening of others—those who are born and live—could become a source of happiness for ‘us,’ revealing his concern with welfare and the moral aftermath of conflict.