Shloka 22
वयमेवास्यथ लोकस्य विनाशे कारण स्मृता: । धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्रेषु तत् सर्व प्रतिपत्स्यति,हमलोग ही इस जगत्के विनाशमें कारण माने गये हैं; परंतु इसका सारा उत्तरदायित्व धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंपर ही पड़ेगा
vayam evāsya lokasya vināśe kāraṇa-smṛtāḥ | dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putreṣu tat sarvaṃ pratipatsyati ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “People consider us to have been the cause of this world’s ruin; yet the entire burden of responsibility for it will fall upon the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes public perception from moral accountability: even if the victors are blamed as the visible agents of destruction, ethical responsibility ultimately rests with those whose choices and wrongdoing initiated and sustained the conflict.
In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the devastation. He acknowledges that people may accuse the Pāṇḍavas of causing ruin, but he asserts that the decisive culpability belongs to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons, whose actions led to the catastrophe.