Mahabharata (Gita Press) 11.21.7 - Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 7
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
उद्विग्न: सततं यस्माद् धर्मराजो युधिष्ठिर: । त्रयोदश समा निद्रां चिन्तयन् नाध्यगच्छत
udvignaḥ satataṃ yasmād dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | trayodaśa samā nidrāṃ cintayan nādhyagacchat mādhava |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Because Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira was continually distressed, he could not obtain sleep for thirteen years, being consumed by anxious reflection, O Mādhava.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a righteous ruler may be shaken by the moral weight of violence and loss; dharma is not merely victory in war but the capacity to face consequences with ethical reflection and responsibility.
In the aftermath of the great war, the narrator describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s prolonged inner turmoil: he remains continually anxious and, brooding over events, is unable to sleep for thirteen years.
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