Shloka 26
मृतानामपि चैतेषां विकृतं नैव जायते । मुखवर्णा: प्रसन्ना मे ५ 40025 %8 [,धर्मपुत्रो महाबाहुर्विललाप सुविस्तरम् । अर्जुन मरे पड़े थे; उनके धनुष-बाण इधर-उधर बिखरे थे। भीमसेन और नकुल-सहदेव भी प्राणरहित हो निश्रेष्ट हो गये थे। इन सबको देखकर युधिष्ठिर गरम-गरम लंबी साँसें खींचने लगे। उनके नेत्रोंसे शोकके आँसू उमड़कर उन्हें भिगो रहे थे। अपने समस्त भ्राताओंको इस प्रकार धराशायी हुए देख महाबाह धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर गहरी चिन्तामें डूब गये और देरतक विलाप करते रहे-- “क्योंकि मर जानेपर भी मेरे इन भाइयोंके शरीरमें कोई विकृति नहीं उत्पन्न हुई है। अब भी मेरे भाइयोंके मुखकी कान्ति प्रसन्न है।। इस तरह वे सोच-विचारमें ही डूबे रहे
mṛtānām api caiteṣāṃ vikṛtaṃ naiva jāyate | mukhavarṇāḥ prasannā me ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Even though these (my brothers) are dead, no disfigurement or change has arisen in them at all. The complexion and expression of their faces still appear serene to me.” Seeing his brothers fallen yet strangely unaltered, Yudhiṣṭhira’s grief deepens into anxious reflection: the outward calm of the bodies intensifies the moral and spiritual uncertainty about what unseen cause has brought about this calamity.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how outward appearances can be misleading in ethical discernment: even in death, the brothers’ serene faces show no visible corruption, prompting deeper inquiry into hidden causes (dharma, karma, or unseen agency) rather than hasty conclusions.
After finding his brothers fallen lifeless, Yudhiṣṭhira observes that their bodies show no distortion and their faces remain calm. This uncanny detail intensifies his lament and sets the stage for investigating the true cause of their collapse.