Shloka 24

Devanagari script

रागात्‌ क्रोधाद्‌ भयाल्लो भाद्‌ यो<र्थानीहति मानव:

Transliteration

rāgāt krodhād bhayāl lobhād yo 'rthān īhati mānavaḥ

Translation

Kṛpa dit : «L’homme qui recherche les gains du monde sous l’emprise de l’attachement, de la colère, de la peur ou de l’avidité perd la clarté morale ; un effort mû par le désir se trouve souillé sur le plan éthique et mène à la ruine.»

Word by Word

रागात्from attachment/passion

क्रोधात्from anger

भयात्from fear

लोभात्from greed

यःwho

अर्थान्objects/ends, wealth, purposes

ईहतिstrives for, seeks

मानवःa man, human

Speaker

कृप उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kṛpa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when the pursuit of wealth or objectives is driven by rāga (attachment), krodha (anger), bhaya (fear), or lobha (greed), one’s judgment becomes distorted and dharma is endangered; ethical action requires freedom from these compulsive impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sauptika Parva’s tense aftermath of the war, Kṛpa speaks in a cautionary, reflective tone, highlighting how destructive motives—attachment, anger, fear, and greed—can propel people toward wrongful acts, a theme especially relevant to the night-raid context of this parva.