Shloka 35
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel
आत्मापराधात् पुत्रास्ते विनष्टा: पृथिवीपते । मा तान् शोचस्व राजेन्द्र न हि शोके5स्ति कारणम्,पृथ्वीनाथ! आपके पुत्र अपने ही अपराधसे विनाशको प्राप्त हुए हैं। राजेन्द्र! उनके लिये शोक न करो; क्योंकि शोकके लिये कोई उपयुक्त कारण नहीं है
ātmāparādhāt putrās te vinaṣṭāḥ pṛthivīpate | mā tān śocāsva rājendra na hi śoke 'sti kāraṇam ||
Vyāsa said: “O lord of the earth, your sons have perished because of their own wrongdoing. O best of kings, do not grieve for them, for there is no fitting cause for sorrow—when the ruin has arisen from one’s own fault.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief is tempered by moral discernment: when suffering is the consequence of one’s own wrongdoing (ātmāparādha), lamentation cannot undo the result; the wiser response is to recognize responsibility and learn from the ethical failure.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vyāsa addresses the bereaved king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, telling him that his sons’ destruction arose from their own misdeeds and urging him not to sink into sorrow over what was self-caused.