Shloka 10
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
पापीयान् स हि शूद्रेभ्यस्तस्करेभ्यो विशिष्यते । शास्त्रातिगो मन्दबुद्धियों धर्ममभिशड्गकते,जो मन्दबुद्धि पुरुष शास्त्रोंकी मर्यादाका उल्लंघन करके धर्मके विषयमें आशंका करता है, वह शूद्रों और चोरोंसे भी बढ़कर पापी है
pāpīyān sa hi śūdrebyas taskarebhyo viśiṣyate | śāstrātigo mandabuddhir dharmam abhiśaṅkate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Más pecador, en verdad, es el hombre de entendimiento torpe que traspasa los límites de los śāstras y luego siembra sospecha sobre el dharma; supera incluso a los śūdras y a los ladrones en maldad. Pues al violar la enseñanza autorizada y dudar de la rectitud, socava el fundamento mismo del orden moral».
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that violating authoritative moral guidance (śāstra) and then doubting or maligning dharma is a grave fault. Such skepticism born of transgression is portrayed as more harmful than ordinary social or criminal wrongdoing because it destabilizes ethical order.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking in a reflective, didactic mode, evaluating degrees of sin and emphasizing reverence for dharma as understood through śāstra. He contrasts common categories of wrongdoing (theft, low conduct) with the deeper danger of rejecting or suspecting dharma after crossing prescribed limits.