Shloka 21
एतच्च मरणं तात यन्मत्त: पतितादिव । ज्ञातयो विनिवर्तन्ते प्रेतसत््वादिवासव:,तात! जैसे पतित मनुष्यके निकटसे लोग दूर भागते हैं और जैसे मृत शरीरसे प्राण निकल जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार मेरे कुटुम्बीजन भी जो मुझसे मुँह मोड़ रहे हैं, यही मेरे लिये मरण है
etac ca maraṇaṃ tāta yan mattaḥ patitād iva | jñātayo vinivartante pretasattvād ivāsavaḥ ||
Hijo querido, esto es para mí la muerte: que mis propios parientes se vuelvan atrás y se aparten de mí, como la gente se aparta de un hombre caído, y como los alientos vitales abandonan un cuerpo sin vida. Su retirada y su negativa a sostenerme se sienten como la pérdida misma de la vida.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames social and familial abandonment as a form of living death: for a dharmic person, the loss of kinship support and recognition can feel as devastating as physical death, highlighting the ethical weight of loyalty, solidarity, and responsibility within the family.
Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in distress during the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and tensions, expressing that his relatives’ turning away from him—treating him like someone fallen or untouchable—feels like death itself, signaling the deep rupture within the Kuru family.