Shloka 12
कुरून् परिभवेत् सर्वान् पज्चालानपि भारत । पाण्डवेयांश्व॒ सम्प्राप्तो मम क्लेशो हारिंदम,भारत! शत्रुदमन! मुझपर पड़ा हुआ यह क्लेश समस्त कौरवों, पाञज्चालों और पाण्डवोंके लिये अपमानकी बात है
kurūn paribhavet sarvān pāñcālān api bhārata | pāṇḍaveyāṁś ca samprāpto mama kleśo harindama ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, this affliction that has come upon me is a matter of humiliation for all the Kurus, for the Pāñcālas as well, and for the sons of Pāṇḍu. When a single person’s distress becomes a stain upon entire lineages, it signals a failure of protection and responsibility—an ethical lapse that dishonors kin and allies alike.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Personal suffering, when left unaddressed by those responsible, becomes collective dishonor. The verse frames distress (kleśa) not merely as private pain but as an ethical and political failure that stains allied houses—highlighting dharma as protection, accountability, and preservation of honor.
Vaiśampāyana reports a statement emphasizing that a certain misfortune afflicting the speaker is shameful for the major allied lineages—Kurus, Pāñcālas, and Pāṇḍavas—because it implies that those who should prevent such humiliation have not upheld their duty.