Shloka 21
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
पज्चालानां कुरूणां च हता एव हि ये हता: । न चेत् सर्वानयं लोक: पश्येत् स्वेनैव कर्मणा
Pañcālānāṃ Kurūṇāṃ ca hatā eva hi ye hatāḥ | na cet sarvān ayaṃ lokaḥ paśyet svenaiva karmaṇā ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「パンチャーラとクルのうち、討たれた英雄たちは、まことに去ってしまった――討たれて、もはや戻らぬ。もしそうでなければ、この世界は見ただろう。彼らが自らの努力と行いによって、いかに高き境地へ昇り得たかを。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects on the finality of death in war and implicitly contrasts unrealized human potential with the irrevocable consequences of violence. It also highlights the moral idea that one’s rise or attainment is tied to one’s own karma (deeds/effort), yet war can cut that trajectory short.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira laments and reflects after the devastating Kurukṣetra war. Here he speaks of the slain Pāñcāla and Kuru heroes, noting that they are truly gone; otherwise the world would have seen what heights they could have reached through their own actions.