Shloka 14
अौर्ध्वदेहिक-श्राद्धे दानयज्ञविस्तारः | Expansion of the Aurdhvadehika Śrāddha and the Donation-Rite
हतप्रवीरां पृथिवीं हृतरत्नां च भारत । सदैव चिन्तयन्तस्ते न शर्म चोपलेभिरे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | hatapravīrāṁ pṛthivīṁ hṛtaratnāṁ ca bhārata | sadaiva cintayantaste na śarma copalebhire ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Ô Bhārata, méditant sans cesse sur la détresse de la terre — privée de ses plus grands héros et dépouillée de ses trésors — les Pāṇḍava ne trouvaient ni paix ni réconfort, pas même un instant. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a righteous victory can leave a moral and emotional residue: when society is devastated—its protectors slain and its wealth plundered—true peace (śarma) does not arise easily. The verse underscores responsibility toward the realm and the ethical weight of violence, pointing toward detachment and atonement as necessary responses.
In the Āśramavāsika section, the narrator describes the Pāṇḍavas’ continuing distress after the great war. They repeatedly contemplate the ruined condition of the earth/kingdom—deprived of leading warriors and stripped of riches—and therefore cannot find solace.