Shloka 25
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
एतामवस्थां प्राप्यैके मरणं वव्रिरे जना: । ग्रामायैके वनायैके नाशायैके प्रवव्रजु:,इस निर्धन अवस्थाको पाकर कितने ही मनुष्योंने मृत्युका वरण किया है। कुछ लोग गाँव छोड़कर दूसरे गाँवमें जा बसे हैं, कितने ही जंगलोंमें चले गये हैं और कितने ही मनुष्य प्राण देनेके लिये घरसे निकल पड़े हैं
etām avasthāṁ prāpyaike maraṇaṁ vavrirē janāḥ | grāmāyaike vanāyaike nāśāyaike pravavrajuḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Having fallen into such a condition, some people choose death. Some abandon their village and settle elsewhere; some withdraw into the forest; and some, seeking their own ruin, depart from home as if to give up life itself.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extreme hardship can drive people toward self-destruction or flight, implying an ethical responsibility for rulers and society to prevent conditions that crush human dignity and push individuals into despair.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes the human consequences of a dire condition: some choose death, some migrate from their village, some retreat to the forest, and some leave home with the intention of perishing—underscoring the severity of the crisis being discussed.