Shloka 45
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
कृष्णाजिनानि परिधित्समानान् दुःशासन: कटुकान्य भ्यभाषत् । एते सर्वे षण्ढतिला विनष्टा: क्षयं गता नरक॑ दीर्घकालम्,जिस समय पाण्डव वनमें जानेके लिये कृष्ण-मृगचर्म धारण करना चाहते थे, उस समय दुःशासनने उनके प्रति कितनी ही कड़वी बातें कहीं--'ये सब-के-सब हीजड़े अब नष्ट हो गये, चिरकालके लिये नरकके गर्तमें गिर गये”
kṛṣṇājināni paridhitsamānān duḥśāsanaḥ kaṭukāny abhyabhāṣat | ete sarve ṣaṇḍhatilā vinaṣṭāḥ kṣayaṃ gatā narakaṃ dīrghakālam ||
As the Pāṇḍavas were preparing to don black antelope-skins for their departure to the forest, Duḥśāsana addressed them with harsh, cutting words: “All of these are ruined—impotent, contemptible men—fallen into destruction, consigned to hell for a long time.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that adharma operates through speech as well as action: cruel, dehumanizing words are themselves a moral violation and a tool of oppression. It also frames such abuse as karmically consequential, contrasting the Pāṇḍavas’ acceptance of hardship with the Kauravas’ escalating cruelty.
At the moment the Pāṇḍavas are about to adopt the outward signs of forest-exile by wearing black antelope-skins, Duḥśāsana mocks and insults them with abusive language, portraying them as ruined and destined for hell—an episode that intensifies the moral tension leading toward the great war.