Shloka 14
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
अन्यस्मिन्नपि लोके वै यथा मुच्येम किल्बिषात् | तथा प्रशाधि मां राजन् मम चेदिच्छसि प्रियम्
anyasminn api loke vai yathā mucyema kilbiṣāt | tathā praśādhi māṃ rājan mama ced icchasi priyam, nareśvara | niścaya hi vidhātāne naḥ pāpī hi racā hai | rājan yadi āp mera priya karanā cāhate haiṃ to mujhe aisā upadeśa dījiye, jisase paralok meṃ bhī mujhe is pāp se chuṭkārā mil sake |
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Dis-moi, ô roi, comment, dans l’autre monde aussi, nous pourrions être délivrés du péché. Instruis-moi ainsi, si tu veux faire ce qui m’est cher, ô seigneur des hommes. Car il semble certain que le Créateur nous a façonnés pécheurs. Aussi, ô roi, si tu veux m’accorder ce que je cherche, donne-moi un tel conseil que, même dans l’au-delà, j’obtienne la délivrance de cette faute.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral inquiry: true guidance must address not only immediate consequences but also the ethical and karmic burden that follows into the next life. Yudhiṣṭhira seeks instruction (praśāsana) for release from kilbiṣa—guilt/sin—implying the need for dharmic counsel and expiation that restores moral order beyond this world.
Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the sense of wrongdoing, addresses a kingly authority (nareśvara) and requests a definitive teaching on how to be freed from sin even in the afterlife. His words convey deep remorse and a feeling of being bound by fate (vidhātā), motivating his plea for corrective instruction.