Shloka 10

Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)

Devanagari script

वत्सलत्वाद द्विजश्रेष्ठ तत्र मे नास्ति संशय: । व्यक्त सौक्ष्म्याच्च धर्मस्य प्राप्स्याम: स्त्रीवधं वयम्‌

Transliteration

vatsalatvād dvijaśreṣṭha tatra me nāsti saṁśayaḥ | vyakta-saukṣmyāc ca dharmasya prāpsyāmaḥ strī-vadhaṁ vayam ||

Translation

हे द्विजश्रेष्ठ! अपने सगे-सम्बन्धियों के प्रति वात्सल्य के कारण वे अवश्य ऐसा ही करेंगी—इसमें मुझे संशय नहीं। और धर्म की गति सूक्ष्म होने से निश्चय ही हमें भी नारी-वध के पाप का भागी होना पड़ेगा।

Word by Word

• {'vatsalatvāt': 'from affection, tender attachment (especially toward one’s own)', 'dvijaśreṣṭha': 'O best of the twice-born

• an honorific for a Brahmin sage', 'tatra': 'in that matter, regarding that point', 'me': 'to me, in my view', 'nāsti saṁśayaḥ': 'there is no doubt', 'vyakta': 'clearly, certainly', 'saukṣmyāt': 'because of subtlety

• due to being difficult to judge', 'dharma': 'righteous duty

• the right course of action', 'prāpsyāmaḥ': 'we shall obtain/meet with

• we shall incur', 'strī-vadham': 'the killing of women

• woman-slaying', 'vayam': 'we'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• dvijaśreṣṭha (addressed Brahmin/sage)
• striyaḥ (women, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when one’s intention is not directly to harm, moral responsibility can still arise because dharma is subtle; affectionate attachment and foreseeable consequences can make one complicit in wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Brahmin sage, expressing certainty that women, driven by affection for their relatives, will act in a way that leads to tragic outcomes; he fears that, given dharma’s subtle nature, his side will bear the guilt of ‘woman-slaying’ as a consequence.