Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पुत्रहन्ता नृशंसो5हं तव देवि युधिष्ठिर: । शापा्ह: पृथिवीनाशे हेतुभूत: शपस्व माम्‌,यह सुनकर महाराज युधिष्छिर काँपते हुए हाथ जोड़े उनके सामने आये और बड़ी मीठी वाणीमें बोले--“देवि! आपके पुत्रोंका संहार करनेवाला क्रूरकर्मा युधिष्ठिर मैं हूँ। पृथ्वीभरके राजाओंका नाश करानेमें मैं ही हेतु हूँ, इसलिये शापके योग्य हूँ। आप मुझे शाप दे दीजिये

Transliteration

putrahantā nṛśaṁso 'haṁ tava devi yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | śāpārhaḥ pṛthivīnāśe hetubhūtaḥ śapasva mām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Yudhiṣṭhira spoke, “O goddess-queen, I—Yudhiṣṭhira—am the ruthless slayer of your sons. I have become the cause of the destruction of kings across the earth; therefore I am fit to be cursed. Curse me.”

Word by Word

पुत्रहन्ताslayer of (your) sons

नृशंसःcruel, ruthless

अहम्I

तवof you, your

देविO lady/queen

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

शापार्हःworthy of a curse

पृथिवीनाशेin the destruction of the earth (kings on earth)

हेतुभूतःhaving become the cause; being the cause

शपस्वcurse (me)!

माम्me

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Devī (addressed queen, i.e., Gāndhārī)

sons (of the addressed queen)

kings of the earth

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds moral accountability after violence: even a victorious ruler recognizes complicity in mass suffering and accepts the ethical consequences, seeking expiation through rightful censure rather than self-justification.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the war, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches the bereaved queen (addressed as Devī, understood as Gāndhārī) and, overwhelmed by remorse for the death of her sons and the widespread ruin of kings, declares himself blameworthy and invites her to pronounce a curse upon him.