Shloka 10
एतदेव निमित्तं ते पाण्डवास्तु यथा त्वयि । नान्वतप्यन्त कौपीनं तावत् कृत्वापि दुष्करम्,पाण्डुनन्दन! कौरवोंके सन्धि न करनेका सबसे बड़ा कारण या प्रमाण तो यही है कि उन्होंने आपको कौपीन धारण कराकर तथा उतने दीर्घकालतकके लिये वनवासका दुष्कर कष्ट देकर भी कभी इसके लिये पश्चात्ताप नहीं किया
etad eva nimittaṁ te pāṇḍavās tu yathā tvayi | nānvatapyanta kaupīnaṁ tāvat kṛtvāpi duṣkaram, pāṇḍunandana |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “This alone is the decisive proof against them, O son of Pāṇḍu, in the way they have treated you and the Pāṇḍavas: even after forcing you to wear a mere loincloth and after making you endure the harsh ordeal of exile for so long, they have never once felt remorse. That absence of repentance is the strongest reason why reconciliation with the Kauravas cannot truly stand.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A durable peace requires moral accountability. Yudhiṣṭhira argues that the Kauravas’ lack of remorse after inflicting severe humiliation and long exile shows an ethical failure; without repentance, reconciliation becomes unreliable and unjust.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Pāṇḍava (Pāṇḍunandana) and points to the Kauravas’ unrepentant conduct—forcing deprivation symbolized by the kaupīna and imposing prolonged exile—as the strongest evidence against trusting a peace settlement.