Shloka 2

कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve

Devanagari script

सम्मुह्यामि विषीदामि धर्मो मे शिथिलीकृत: । उद्यमं नाधिगच्छामि कदाचित्‌ परिसान्त्वयन्‌

Transliteration

sammuhyāmi viṣīdāmi dharmo me śithilīkṛtaḥ | udyamaṁ nādhigacchāmi kadācit parisāntvayan |

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata, “Mendengar kisah ini dari mulutmu, aku menjadi bingung dan tenggelam dalam duka. Keteguhanku pada dharma telah mengendur. Walau berulang kali kucoba menenangkan dan meneguhkan diriku, aku tak lagi, kapan pun, menemukan semangat untuk berusaha demi dharma.”

Word by Word

• {'sammuhyāmi': 'I am confused, deluded, bewildered', 'viṣīdāmi': 'I grieve

• I become dejected', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma

• moral order', 'me': 'my

• of me', 'śithilīkṛtaḥ': 'made slack/loosened

• weakened', 'udyamam': 'effort

• initiative', 'na adhigacchāmi': 'I do not attain/find

• I cannot reach', 'kadācit': 'ever

• at any time', 'parisāntvayan': 'while consoling/soothing (oneself)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a classic dharmic crisis: intense grief and moral shock can weaken one’s capacity for righteous action. It frames the need for guidance that restores clarity, steadiness, and purposeful effort aligned with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, Yudhiṣṭhira confesses to his interlocutor that hearing the preceding discourse/upākhyāna has left him overwhelmed and despondent. He feels his commitment to dharma has slackened and admits he cannot summon the motivation to act, even after repeatedly trying to console himself.