Shloka 15
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 31 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Instructions to Sañjaya
Peace Appeal and Five-Village Proposal
अजातगशशभत्रुस्तु विहाय पाप॑ं जीर्णा त्वचं सर्प इवासमर्थाम् । विरोचतेडहार्यवृत्तेन वीरो युधिष्ठिरस्त्वयि पापं विसृज्य
sañjaya uvāca | ajātaśatruḥ tu vihāya pāpaṃ jīrṇāṃ tvacaṃ sarpa ivāsamarthām | virocate dhārya-vṛttena vīro yudhiṣṭhiras tvayi pāpaṃ visṛjya ||
Sañjaya dit : Ayant rejeté le péché—tel un serpent qui se défait de sa vieille peau, usée et désormais incapable d’adhérer—Ajātaśatru, le héros Yudhiṣṭhira, resplendit. En laissant retomber sur toi le fardeau de la faute et en revenant à sa règle inébranlable de juste conduite, il paraît éclatant dans sa vertu naturelle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral clarity and steadfast right conduct make a person ‘shine’; wrongdoing should be renounced rather than carried forward, and ethical integrity is portrayed as a natural radiance restored when sin is cast off.
Sañjaya describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s renewed moral brilliance: he has abandoned ‘pāpa’ and, by placing the blame/burden of wrongdoing upon the addressed party (‘tvayi’), stands out in his own upholdable righteous conduct, compared to a serpent shedding an old skin.