Shloka 37
भीष्म–जामदग्न्यसंवादः (Amba-prasaṅga and Kurukṣetra Dvandva Declaration) / Bhishma–Jamadagnya Dialogue
असकृच्चाब्रुवं राजन् शोकवेगपरिप्लुत: । अहो बत कृतं पापं मेयदं क्षत्रधर्मणा
asakṛc cābruvaṁ rājan śokavega-pariplutaḥ | aho bata kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ me yad aṁ kṣatradharmaṇā ||
हे राजन्! शोकाच्या वेगाने व्याकुळ होऊन मी वारंवार म्हणू लागलो—‘अहो! क्षत्रियधर्माच्या नावाखाली मी हे किती पाप करून बसलो!’
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between prescribed social duty (kṣatriya-dharma) and personal conscience: actions justified as ‘duty’ can still be experienced as morally grievous, prompting remorse and self-scrutiny.
Rāma addresses a king and, repeatedly overcome by grief, laments that he has committed a sinful act—one carried out under the banner of warrior duty—revealing inner turmoil after a duty-bound deed.