Shloka 26
शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma
चारवक उवाच इमे प्राहुर्द्धिजा: सर्वे समारोप्य वचो मयि । धिग् भवन्तं कुनृपतिं ज्ञातिघातिनमस्तु वै
cārvāka uvāca | ime prāhur dvijāḥ sarve samāropya vaco mayi | dhig bhavantaṃ kunṛpatiṃ jñātighātinam astu vai ||
Cārvāka dit : « Ô roi ! Tous ces brāhmaṇas deux-fois-nés, déposant leurs paroles sur moi, déclarent ceci : “Honte à toi, ô roi indigne, meurtrier de tes propres parents ! Oui, que l’opprobre s’abatte sur toi.” »
चारवक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical stigma of kin-slaying and the vulnerability of a ruler’s moral legitimacy to public/religious censure—especially when blame and speech are strategically ‘placed upon’ another to intensify condemnation.
Cārvāka speaks as if voicing the Brahmins’ judgment, claiming they have put their words on him and that they denounce the king as an ignoble ruler and a slayer of his own relatives—an accusation aimed at shaming the newly victorious ruler in the war’s aftermath.