Shloka 16
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
तासामयं समुद्योगो निर्वत्त: केवलोडफल:,परंतु उनका यह उद्योग सर्वथा निष्फल हो गया; क्योंकि हमलोगोंने उन सब माताओंके नवयुवक पुत्रोंको, जो विशुद्ध सुवर्णमय कुण्डलोंसे अलंकृत थे, मार डाला है। वे इस भूलोकके भोगोंके उपभोगका अवसर न पाकर देवताओं और पितरोंका ऋण उतारे बिना ही यमलोकमें चले गये
tāsām ayaṃ samudyogo nirvṛttaḥ kevalo ’phalaḥ; paraṃtu vayaṃ tāḥ sarvā mātṝṇāṃ nava-yuvaka-putrān, viśuddha-suvarṇa-maya-kuṇḍalair alaṅkṛtān, jaghnima. te ’sya bhūlokasya bhogān anubhavituṃ avasaraṃ na prāpya, devatṛ-ṛṇaṃ pitṛ-ṛṇaṃ ca anapākṛtyaiva yama-lokaṃ gatāḥ.
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Maka seluruh upaya mereka berakhir dalam kesia-siaan belaka. Sebab kitalah yang membunuh putra-putra para ibu itu—para pemuda yang berhias anting emas murni. Tanpa sempat mengecap kenikmatan hidup di bumi, dan tanpa menunaikan utang kepada para dewa serta para leluhur, mereka telah pergi ke alam Yama.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral cost of war: death can sever a person’s chance to fulfill life’s obligations (ṛṇa) to gods and ancestors. Yudhishthira frames the tragedy not only as loss of life but as the interruption of dharmic duties—an ethical lens that deepens his remorse.
Yudhishthira laments that the efforts of certain mothers (implicitly, their hopes and life-projects centered on their sons) have become futile because the young men were killed in the war. He emphasizes their youth and adornment, then notes they died before enjoying worldly life or repaying their religious and ancestral obligations, and thus went to Yama’s realm.