Shloka 8
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय 128: दुर्योधनस्य परसेनाप्रवेशः
Duryodhana’s Incursion and the Tumult of Battle
नाध्यगच्छत् तदा शान्तिं तावपश्यन् नरोत्तमौ | लोकोपक्रोशभीरुत्वाद् धर्मराजो महामना:
nādhygacchat tadā śāntiṁ tāv apaśyan narottamau | lokopakrośabhīrutvād dharmarājo mahāmanāḥ ||
ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಹಾಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಧರ್ಮರಾಜನು, ಜನರ ನಿಂದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಲೋಕದ ಆಕ್ರೋಶದ ಭಯದಿಂದ, ಆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ನರೋತ್ತಮರನ್ನು ಎದುರು ನೋಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಮನಶ್ಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಲಿಲ್ಲ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a righteous ruler may be shaken when dharma is weighed against social accountability: fear of public blame and the moral pressure of witnessing exemplary persons can disturb inner peace, showing how conscience and public responsibility shape ethical decision-making.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja) is mentally unsettled. Because he fears the people’s reproach, and because he keeps seeing “those two best of men” before him, he cannot find calm—indicating a moment of intense moral and political anxiety amid the war’s events.