Shloka 74
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
पराश्रया वासुदेव या जीवति धिगस्तु ताम् । वृत्ते: कार्पण्यलब्धाया अप्रतिष्ठेव ज्यायसी
parāśrayā vāsudeva yā jīvati dhig astu tām | vṛtteḥ kārpaṇya-labdhāyā apratiṣṭheva jyāyasī ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Oh Vāsudeva, vergüenza para la mujer que vive dependiendo de otros. Frente a un sustento obtenido por la miseria y la mendicante dependencia—sin dignidad—la muerte misma es el camino mejor.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds personal dignity (pratiṣṭhā) and condemns a life sustained through humiliating dependence; it asserts that a livelihood gained through abjectness is ethically inferior even to death, emphasizing honor and self-reliance as dharmic values.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Vaiśampāyana narrates a pointed moral statement addressed to Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), using the example of a woman living under others’ support to stress the disgrace of undignified dependence and the primacy of honor.