Shloka 37
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
तेषां तु वचन श्रुत्वा दयावान् दीनभाषिणाम् | अहो कृच्छमिति प्राह तस्थौ स च युधिषछिर:
teṣāṁ tu vacanaṁ śrutvā dayāvān dīna-bhāṣiṇām | aho kṛcchram iti prāha tasthau sa ca yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
दीनतेने बोलणाऱ्या त्या प्राण्यांचे शब्द ऐकून दयाळू युधिष्ठिर तेथेच थांबला. त्याच्या मुखातून सहसा उद्गार निघाला—“अहो! किती कठीण क्लेश!”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dhārmic ruler’s first response to suffering is compassion: Yudhiṣṭhira does not ignore the distressed voices but stops and acknowledges their hardship, modeling ethical sensitivity and responsibility toward the afflicted.
As Vaiśampāyana narrates, Yudhiṣṭhira hears the lamenting words of miserable beings; moved by pity, he halts and blurts out, “Alas, what hardship,” indicating his immediate emotional and moral reaction to their plight.