Shloka 3
यज्ञवाटवैभववर्णनम् / Description of the Splendour of the Sacrificial Enclosure
कि निमित्तं स नित्यं हि पार्थ: सुखविवर्जित: । अतीव विजयो धीमन्निति मे दूयते मनः
kiṁ nimittaṁ sa nityaṁ hi pārthaḥ sukhavivarjitaḥ | atīva vijayo dhīmann iti me dūyate manaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Apa sebabnya Pārtha seakan selalu jauh dari kebahagiaan? Walau ia amat berjaya, wahai Janārdana yang bijaksana, pikiran ini menyayat hatiku. Saat aku duduk sendiri dan merenungkan Arjuna, aku bersedih karena di antara kami dialah yang terus-menerus menanggung bagian derita terbesar. Mengapa Arjuna, putra Pāṇḍu, dijauhkan dari ketenteraman dan puas hati?”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension central to the Mahābhārata: outward success (vijaya) does not guarantee inner well-being (sukha). Yudhiṣṭhira’s compassion and self-scrutiny frame an ethical inquiry into why the most dutiful and capable person may still bear disproportionate suffering—inviting reflection on dharma, the costs of responsibility, and the limits of worldly achievement.
In the Aśvamedhika context after the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana). Sitting in solitude, he reflects on Arjuna’s life and feels grief that Arjuna—though repeatedly victorious—seems continually deprived of happiness. He asks Kṛṣṇa to explain the cause of this pattern of suffering.