Shloka 323
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
क्षयं नीत॑ कुलं दीप्तं पृथिवीराज्यमिच्छता । “अपवित्र बुद्धिवाले मेरे पापी एवं मूर्ख पुत्रने समस्त भूमण्डलके राज्यका लोभ करके अपने दीप्तिमान् कुलका विनाश कर डाला
kṣayaṃ nītaṃ kulaṃ dīptaṃ pṛthivīrājyam icchatā |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「全地を治めんとする欲望に駆られ、穢れた思いを抱く我が罪深く愚かな子は、輝かしい一族を滅びへと追いやった。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that craving for absolute power (pṛthivīrājya) can eclipse discernment and lead to the ruin (kṣaya) of even a noble, illustrious lineage (dīpta-kula). It frames ambition without dharma as self-destructive and socially catastrophic.
Vaiśampāyana summarizes a moral judgment within the Ashramavāsika context: the pursuit of earthly sovereignty is presented as the causal force that brought about the destruction of a once-glorious family line, echoing the Mahābhārata’s broader reflection on the war’s dynastic collapse.