Shloka 27
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
दुर्योधन हमसे द्वेष रखनेके कारण सदा संतप्त रहकर कभी यहाँ सुख नहीं पाता था। हमलोगोंके पास वैसी समृद्धि देखकर उसकी कान्ति फीकी पड़ गयी थी। वह चिन्तासे सूखकर पीला और दुर्बल हो गया था ।। धृतराष्ट्रश्न नृपति: सौबलेन निवेदित: । त॑ पिता पुत्रगृद्धित्वादनुमेने$नये स्थित:
duryodhanaḥ asmāsu dveṣaṃ dhṛtvā sadā santaptaḥ san iha kadācit sukhaṃ na prāpnot. asmākaṃ tādṛśīṃ samṛddhiṃ dṛṣṭvā tasya kāntiḥ phīkābhavat. sa cintayā śuṣyan pītaḥ durbalaś ca babhūva. dhṛtarāṣṭraś ca nṛpatiḥ saubalenābhihitaḥ; sa pitā putragṛddhitvād anaye sthitaṃ (taṃ) anumene.
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Because Duryodhana nursed hatred toward us, he remained perpetually tormented and could never find happiness here. Seeing the prosperity we possessed, his radiance grew dim. Wasted by anxiety, he became pale and weak. And King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, prompted by Śakuni, out of a father’s greedy attachment to his son, consented to that course of unrighteousness.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hatred and envy consume the hater first: Duryodhana’s fixation on others’ prosperity destroys his peace and vitality. The verse also warns that rulers who let personal attachment—especially parental partiality—override dharma become vulnerable to corrupt counsel and end up consenting to unrighteous policies.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on Duryodhana’s inner state: seeing the Pāṇḍavas’ prosperity, Duryodhana grows jealous, loses his luster, and becomes physically weakened by worry. He then notes how Dhṛtarāṣṭra, influenced by Śakuni and driven by attachment to his son, approved an unrighteous course that enabled the conflict.