Shloka 37
Adhyāya 14: Sudēṣṇā Sends Sairandhrī to Kīcaka’s House (सुदेष्णा–सैरन्ध्री–कीचक संवादः)
मिथ्याभिगृथ्नो हि नर: पापात्मा मोहमास्थित: । अयशः प्राप्तुयाद् घोरं महद् वा प्राप्तुयाद् भयम्
mithyābhigṛhṇo hi naraḥ pāpātmā moham āsthitaḥ | ayaśaḥ prāpnuyād ghoraṃ mahad vā prāpnuyād bhayam ||
“മിഥ്യയായ കാര്യങ്ങളെ പിടിച്ചുപറ്റി മോഹത്തിൽ വീഴുന്ന പാപാത്മാവ് ഭീകരമായ അപകീർത്തി നേടും—അല്ലെങ്കിൽ മഹാഭയം, മരണത്തെയും നേരിടേണ്ടിവരും.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Clinging to falsehood and living under delusion leads to inevitable consequences: either severe loss of honor (ayaśas) or overwhelming danger (bhaya), potentially death. The verse frames truthfulness and clear-mindedness as safeguards of both reputation and life.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a general moral observation within the Virāṭa-parvan context, emphasizing how delusion-driven attachment to false or improper objects/aims results in ruin. It functions as an ethical warning that supports the broader narrative tension of concealment, risk, and the stakes of right conduct during the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito period.