Shloka 22
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
कृष्णं च पुण्डरीकाक्षं किल्बिषी भ्रूणहा यथा । मैंने राज्यके लोभमें पड़कर जब पर्वतोंपर उत्पन्न हुए सिंहके समान पराक्रमी अभिमन्युको द्रोणाचार्यद्वारा सुरक्षित कौरवसेनामें झोंक दिया, तभीसे भ्रूण-हत्या करनेवाले पापीके समान मैं अर्जुन तथा कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णकी ओर आँख उठाकर देख नहीं पाता हूँ ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kṛṣṇaṃ ca puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ kilbiṣī bhrūṇahā yathā | mayā rājyasya lobhena patitena yadā parvatopajātasiṃhasamaparākramam abhimanyum droṇācāryarakṣitāyāṃ kauravasenāyāṃ prākṣiptam | tadāprabhṛti bhrūṇahatyāpāpīva ahaṃ arjunaṃ ca kamalanayanaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ ca ūrdhvaṃ cakṣuṣā draṣṭuṃ na śaknomi || draupadī cāpi duḥkhārtā pañcaputrair vinākṛtā |
ユディシュティラは言った。「私はアルジュナにも、蓮華の眼をもつクリシュナにも、罪人が胎児殺しの咎を負うかのように、顔を上げて見ることができぬ。王権への欲に堕ち、山々に生まれたかのごとく獅子の勇を備えたアビマンニュを、ドローナに守られたカウラヴァ軍の中へと投げ込んだのはこの私だからだ。その時より、彼らを仰ぎ見ることができなくなった。さらにドラウパディーも、悲嘆に責められ、五人の息子を奪われてしまった。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability in leadership: desire for power (rājya-lobha) can drive decisions that cause irreparable harm, and the resulting guilt can be so severe that one feels unworthy even to meet the gaze of the righteous. It also shows how war’s consequences extend beyond the battlefield into enduring ethical and familial suffering.
Yudhiṣṭhira confesses that, driven by ambition for the kingdom, he effectively sent Abhimanyu into a deadly situation against the Kaurava forces guarded by Droṇa. He compares his shame to that of a person guilty of the gravest sin and says he cannot look at Arjuna or Kṛṣṇa. He adds that Draupadī is likewise devastated, having lost her five sons.