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Shloka 24

Devanagari script

कस्तस्य विश्वसेद्‌ वीरो दुष्कृतेरकृतात्मन: । अथवा पुरुषैर्गूढै: प्रयोगो5यं दुरात्मन:,धर्मपुत्रो महाबाहुर्विललाप सुविस्तरम्‌ । अर्जुन मरे पड़े थे; उनके धनुष-बाण इधर-उधर बिखरे थे। भीमसेन और नकुल-सहदेव भी प्राणरहित हो निश्रेष्ट हो गये थे। इन सबको देखकर युधिष्ठिर गरम-गरम लंबी साँसें खींचने लगे। उनके नेत्रोंसे शोकके आँसू उमड़कर उन्हें भिगो रहे थे। अपने समस्त भ्राताओंको इस प्रकार धराशायी हुए देख महाबाह धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर गहरी चिन्तामें डूब गये और देरतक विलाप करते रहे-- “अथवा जिसकी बुद्धिमें सदा कुटिलता ही निवास करती है, उस गान्धारराज शकुनिकी भी यह करतूत हो सकती है। जिसके लिये कर्तव्य और अकर्तव्य दोनों बराबर हैं, उस अजितात्मा पापी शकुनिपर कौन वीर पुरुष विश्वास कर सकता है? अथवा गुप्तरूपसे नियुक्त किये हुए पुरुषोंद्वारा दुरात्मा दुर्योधनने ही यह हिंसात्मक प्रयोग किया होगा”

Transliteration

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca |

kastasyā viśvased vīro duṣkṛter akṛtātmanaḥ |

athavā puruṣair gūḍhaiḥ prayogo 'yaṃ durātmanaḥ |

dharmaputro mahābāhur vilalāpa suvistaram ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “What hero could trust such a man—one given to wicked deeds and lacking self-mastery? Or else, this violent stratagem may have been carried out by hidden agents at the prompting of some evil-minded person.” Seeing his brothers fallen and lifeless, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira, mighty-armed, sank into grief and lamented at length—suspecting treachery and condemning the moral disorder of those for whom right and wrong have become the same.

Word by Word

कःwho?

तस्यof him

विश्वसेत्would trust

वीरःa hero

दुष्कृतेःof evil-deed / wrongdoing

अकृतात्मनःof the undisciplined/self-uncontrolled one

अथor else / then

वाor

पुरुषैःby men

गूढैःhidden, secret

प्रयोगःan attempt/plot/operation

अयम्this

दुरात्मनःof the wicked one

धर्मपुत्रःDharma's son (Yudhiṣṭhira)

महाबाहुःmighty-armed

विललापlamented

सुविस्तरम्at great length

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmaputra)

Arjuna

Bhīmasena

Nakula

Sahadeva

Śakuni (Gāndhāra-rāja)

Duryodhana

bow (dhanus)

arrows (bāṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical judgment: a person lacking self-control (akṛtātmā) and habituated to wrongdoing (duṣkṛti) becomes untrustworthy, and secretive ‘stratagems’ (prayoga) carried out through hidden agents (gūḍha-puruṣa) are marks of adharma. It highlights how moral character determines credibility and how covert violence corrodes righteous order.

What is happening in the narrative?

After seeing his brothers fallen and apparently lifeless, Yudhiṣṭhira laments extensively and tries to identify the cause. He suspects that such a deed could come from Śakuni’s crooked intellect or from Duryodhana acting through concealed agents—interpreting the calamity as the result of hostile, deceitful plotting.