Shloka 243
वैक्लव्यं भरतश्रेष्ठ यथा प्राकृतपूरुषे । उन्हें इस प्रकार व्यथित देखकर भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण बोले--'कुन्तीनन्दन! भरतश्रेष्ठ! आप दु:ख न मानिये। आपके लिये मूढ़ मनुष्योंकी-ती यह व्याकुलता शोभा नहीं देती
vaiklavyam bharataśreṣṭha yathā prākṛtapūruṣe |
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Bharatas, such faint-hearted agitation is fit only for an ordinary, untrained man.” (In context, seeing Arjuna distressed, Śrī Kṛṣṇa urges him not to succumb to grief or weakness, for it is unbecoming of one who bears the responsibility of dharma in a righteous war.)
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns cowardly despondency as unworthy of a responsible warrior; it frames emotional collapse in crisis as a lapse from dharma and self-mastery, urging steadiness and courage.
Sañjaya narrates that, upon seeing Arjuna (Kuntī’s son) distressed, Kṛṣṇa rebukes the weakness and instructs him not to grieve, emphasizing that such agitation suits only an ordinary person, not a hero bound to righteous duty.