Shloka 21
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
प्रावेशयमहं लुब्धो वाहिनी द्रोणपालिताम् | तदाप्रभृति बीभत्सुं न शकनोमि निरीक्षितुम्
prāveśayam ahaṃ lubdho vāhinīṃ droṇapālitām | tadāprabhṛti bībhatsuṃ na śaknomi nirīkṣitum ||
लोभाने आंधळा होऊन मी द्रोणाचार्यांनी सांभाळलेल्या त्या सैन्याला युद्धात ढकलले. त्या वेळेपासून लज्जा व पश्चात्तापाने व्याकुळ होऊन मी बीभत्सु (अर्जुन) याच्याकडे नजर उचलून पाहू शकत नाही.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A leader’s lapse into greed can set vast harm in motion; ethical failure is not merely personal but collective in consequence. Yudhiṣṭhira’s inability to face Arjuna underscores how adharma produces enduring inner punishment—shame, moral injury, and the loss of self-respect.
Yudhiṣṭhira confesses that, driven by greed, he caused the army under Droṇa’s protection/command to be drawn into the conflict. He then admits that ever since that act he cannot bear to look at Arjuna (Bībhatsu), indicating deep remorse and a sense of culpability for the ensuing devastation.