Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 73 Shloka 24 - Mahabharata | Japanese | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 24

Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit

Devanagari script

पूर्व कृच्छूं चरिष्ये5हं पश्चाच्छुभमिति प्रभो । धर्मराजं ब्रुवन्नेवें पतितो5स्मि महीतले

Transliteration

pūrvaṃ kṛcchraṃ cariṣye'haṃ paścāc chubham iti prabho | dharmarājaṃ bruvann evaṃ patito'smi mahītale ||

Translation

「主よ、まずは罪の報いとしての痛ましい苦難を受け、その後に功徳の果としての吉祥を味わいましょう。」そうダルマラージャに告げるや、言い終える間もなく、私は大地へと倒れ伏した。

Word by Word

पूर्वम्first, beforehand

कृच्छ्रम्hardship, suffering

चरिष्येI shall undergo/practise

अहम्I

पश्चात्afterwards

शुभम्good, auspicious merit

इतिthus

प्रभोO lord

धर्मराजम्Dharmaraja (Yudhiṣṭhira)

ब्रुवन्saying, speaking

एवम्thus, in this manner

पतितःfallen

अस्मिI am

महीतलेon the ground, on the earth's surface

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (the Brahmin speaker)

ध

धर्मराज (Dharmarāja / Yudhiṣṭhira)

म

महीतल (the earth/ground)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical responsibility and karmic sequencing: the speaker expresses willingness to face painful consequences first (kṛcchra) and only later enjoy auspicious results (śubha). It reflects a moral attitude of accepting suffering as due recompense rather than seeking to postpone or evade it.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin addresses Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira), declaring his intention to undergo hardship first and then enjoy merit afterwards. As he says this, he suddenly falls to the ground, indicating an immediate dramatic turn—suggesting collapse, fainting, or the onset of a destined consequence.