Shloka 2
Bhīmasena’s Admonition to Yudhiṣṭhira on Rājya and the Ordering of Dharma–Artha–Kāma
Book 3, Chapter 34
युधिछिर उवाच असंशयं भारत सत्यमेतद् यन्मां तुदन् वाक्यशल्यै: क्षिणोषि । न त्वां विगहें प्रतिकूलमेव ममानयाद्धि व्यसनं व आगात्,युधिष्ठिर बोले--भरतकुलनन्दन! तुम मुझे पीड़ा देते हुए अपने वागूबाणोंद्वारा मेरे हृदयको जो विदीर्ण कर रहे हो, यह निःसंदेह ठीक ही है। मेरे प्रतिकूल होनेपर भी इन बातोंके लिये मैं तुम्हारी निन्दा नहीं करता; क्योंकि मेरे ही अन्यायसे तुमलोगोंपर यह विपत्ति आयी है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | asaṃśayaṃ bhārata satyam etad yan māṃ tudan vākyāśalyaiḥ kṣiṇoṣi | na tvāṃ vigahe pratikūlam eva mamānayād dhi vyasanaṃ vāgāt |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Bhārata, without doubt this is true and right—that by piercing me with the barbs of your words you are wearing me down. Even if you speak against me, I do not quarrel with you or condemn you for it; for it is through my own wrongdoing that this calamity has come upon you all.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Yudhiṣṭhira models ethical accountability: he accepts blame for the shared misfortune and therefore does not retaliate against harsh criticism. The verse highlights kṣamā (forbearance) and the moral discipline of receiving rebuke without anger when one recognizes one’s own fault.
In the forest-exile context, Yudhiṣṭhira is being reproached with painful words by a close kinsman (addressed as ‘Bhārata’). He acknowledges that the verbal ‘darts’ hurt, yet he refuses to argue back, stating that the calamity afflicting them has arisen because of his own actions.