Shloka 68
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
वयं तु भृशमापन्ना रक्ता दुःखसुखे5सुखे । कां गतिं प्रतिपत्स्यामो नीलां कृष्णाधमामथ
vayaṁ tu bhṛśam āpannā raktā duḥkha-sukhe 'sukhe | kāṁ gatiṁ pratipatsyāmo nīlāṁ kṛṣṇādhamām atha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Kami, sebaliknya, berada dalam kesengsaraan yang berat, melekat pada keadaan yang bercampur duka dan suka, atau bahkan pada duka semata. Dalam keadaan demikian, nasib apa yang akan kami peroleh? Akankah kami jatuh ke kelahiran manusia ‘biru’, atau tenggelam ke keadaan yang lebih rendah—gelap dan hina, bahkan di bawah bentuk-bentuk kehidupan yang diam?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to suffering (or to a confused mix of pleasure and pain) is itself a moral and spiritual danger: it clouds discernment and raises anxiety about one’s karmic ‘gati’ (destiny). The verse voices the ethical insight that inner fixation and despair can be as consequential as outward acts, and that one should seek clarity, restraint, and dharmic orientation rather than being driven by grief.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective setting after the devastation of the war, Yudhiṣṭhira expresses deep distress and self-doubt. He fears that the Pandavas’ present mental state—overwhelmed and attached to painful emotions—may lead to a degraded destiny, and he asks what kind of rebirth or post-mortem course could await them.