Shloka 9
इदं तु नीचाचरितमसत्पुरुषसेवितम् | कथमाचरितं पार्थ पापकर्म सुदुष्करम्,पार्थ! यह नीच पुरुषोंद्वारा आचरित और दुष्ट पुरुषोंद्वारा सेवित अत्यन्त दुष्कर पापकर्म तुमने कैसे किया?
idaṃ tu nīcācaritam asatpuruṣa-sevitam | katham ācaritaṃ pārtha pāpakarma suduṣkaram ||
Bhūriśravas said: “This deed is base in conduct, frequented by ignoble men. How, O Pārtha, did you come to perform such a grievous and most difficult sin?”
भूरिश्रवा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral accusation: certain actions, even in war, are judged by their association with ignoble conduct and by their intrinsic sinfulness. It highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between victory and righteous means (dharma versus adharma).
In the Drona Parva’s battle context, Bhūriśravas addresses Arjuna (Pārtha) in reproach, condemning an act Arjuna has done as ‘base’ and ‘sinful,’ implying it violates accepted warrior ethics and is the kind of deed associated with wicked men.