Shloka 23
कृपोपदेशः — द्रौणेरनिद्रा च
Kṛpa’s Counsel and Drauṇi’s Sleepless Resolve
यस्य भागश्नतुर्थो मे स्वप्रमह्नाय नाशयेत् । कि नाम दुःखं लोके5स्मिन् पितुर्वधमनुस्मरन्
yasya bhāgaś caturtho me svapramahnāya nāśayet | kiṁ nāma duḥkhaṁ loke 'smin pitur vadham anusmaran |
Kṛpa said: “If even a fourth share of what is due to me were to be destroyed for the sake of my own pride, what sorrow in this world could equal the grief of remembering the slaughter of one’s father?”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛpa highlights how personal pride and claims to one’s due can be eclipsed by deeper moral-emotional realities—especially the enduring grief and ethical weight of a father’s killing. The verse contrasts petty loss with profound, formative sorrow.
In the Sauptika Parva context, Kṛpa speaks amid the aftermath of night-time violence and escalating retaliation. He frames the present situation through the lens of remembered paternal death, indicating how grief and the urge for retribution continue to drive decisions.