Shloka 36

Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)

Devanagari script

निकृत्या निकृता नित्यं धृतराष्ट्रसुतैर्वयम्‌ बहूनि परुषाण्युक्त्वा वन॑ प्रस्थापिता: सम ह,परंतु क्या करूँ, धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्रोंने सदा ही हमें अपने कपटजालका शिकार बनाया और बहुत-से कटुवचन सुनाकर वनमें भेज दिया

Transliteration

nikṛtyā nikṛtā nityaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasutair vayam | bahūni paruṣāṇy uktvā vanaṃ prasthāpitāḥ sma ha ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “By deceit we have continually been deceived by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons. After hurling many harsh words at us, they sent us away to the forest.”

Word by Word

• निकृत्या: by deceit, through treachery
• निकृत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निकृत्या (स्त्री. प्रातिपदिक; √कृ + नि उपसर्ग, भाववाचक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• निकृताः: deceived, cheated
• निकृताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निकृत (कृदन्त; √कृ + नि, क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नित्यम्: always, constantly
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)

• धृतराष्ट्रसुतैः: by the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रसुतैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्रसुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: —, Nominative, Plural

• बहूनि: many
• बहूनि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• परुषाणि: harsh (words)
• परुषाणि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• उक्त्वा: having said
• उक्त्वा: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), —, —

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• प्रस्थापिताः: were sent away, were dispatched
• प्रस्थापिताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रस्थापित (कृदन्त; प्र-√स्था/√स्थाप्, णिच् + क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स्म: indeed/just (past-narrative particle)
• स्म: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्म (निपात)

• ह: indeed (emphatic particle)
• ह: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह (निपात)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas)
• forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical contrast between dharma and adharma: sustained deceit and verbal cruelty are presented as moral injuries that culminate in unjust exile. It frames suffering not as random fate but as the consequence of deliberate wrongdoing, sharpening the demand for righteous accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira recalls how the Kauravas repeatedly used treachery and harsh speech against the Pāṇḍavas, ultimately forcing them into forest exile—an allusion to the chain of humiliations and injustices that preceded the great war.