Shloka 7
Dvaītavana: Brahmaghoṣa, Rṣi-saṅgha, and Baka Dālbhyā’s Upadeśa to Yudhiṣṭhira
चतुर्णामेव पापानामस्त्र न पतितं तदा । त्वयि भारत निष्क्रान्ते वनायाजिनवाससि,भारत! जब आप वल्कल-वस्त्र धारण करके वनमें जानेके लिये निकले, उस समय केवल चार ही पापात्माओंके नेत्रोंसे आँसू नहीं गिरा था
caturṇām eva pāpānām aśru na patitaṃ tadā | tvayi bhārata niṣkrānte vanāyājinavāsasi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At that time, when you, O Bhārata, set out for the forest wearing the bark-garments of an ascetic, tears did not fall from the eyes of only four sinful men. All others were moved to grief and compassion, while those four alone remained untouched—revealing the moral blindness that accompanies adharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts universal human compassion with the emotional barrenness of the wicked: when a righteous person suffers unjustly, most hearts respond with sorrow, but those aligned with adharma remain unmoved—showing that cruelty and moral blindness are themselves signs of sin.
Vaiśampāyana recalls the moment the addressed Bhārata (commonly understood as Yudhiṣṭhira) departed for forest-exile in ascetic attire. The scene is presented as so poignant that nearly everyone wept; only four ‘pāpātmā’ did not shed tears.