Shloka 66
Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)
न हि संतप्यते तेन तथारूपेण कर्मणा । दुर्बुद्धि दुर्योधन सदा धर्म और लोकाचारको छोड़कर ही चलता है; परंतु इस प्रकार धर्म और लोकके विरुद्ध कार्य करके भी वह उससे संतप्त नहीं होता
na hi santapyate tena tathārūpeṇa karmaṇā | durbuddhi duryodhanaḥ sadā dharmaṃ ca lokācāraṃ ca tyaktvaiva carati; parantu evaṃ dharma-loka-virodhinaṃ karma kṛtvāpi sa tena na santapyate |
Arjuna said: “He is not at all pained by such conduct and such deeds. Evil-minded Duryodhana always moves only after casting aside dharma and the accepted ways of the world; yet even after acting in a manner opposed to both righteousness and social order, he feels no remorse.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key ethical warning: wrongdoing becomes especially dangerous when it is accompanied by shamelessness and lack of remorse. To abandon both dharma (moral duty) and lokācāra (social norms) and still feel no inner pain indicates hardened moral blindness, making reconciliation and self-correction difficult.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and assessments of character, Arjuna comments on Duryodhana’s disposition. He observes that Duryodhana repeatedly violates righteousness and accepted conduct, yet remains untroubled—an argument that Duryodhana is unlikely to be restrained by counsel or conscience.