Shloka 17
गान्धारीपुत्रोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of Gāndhārī’s Hundred Sons (and Yuyutsu); Omens and Counsel on Succession
श्रोतुमिच्छामहे ब्रह्मन् कि पापं कृतवानसि । येनेह समनुप्राप्तं शूले दुःखभयं महत्,“ब्रह्म! हम सुनना चाहते हैं कि आपने कौन-सा पाप किया है, जिससे यहाँ शूलपर बैठनेका यह महान् कष्ट आपको प्राप्त हुआ है?”
śrotum icchāmahe brahman ki pāpaṁ kṛtavān asi | yen eha samanupprāptaṁ śūle duḥkhabhayaṁ mahat ||
Mereka berkata: “Wahai Brahmana, kami ingin mendengar apakah dosa yang telah engkau lakukan, sehingga engkau sampai ke sini menerima seksa dan ketakutan yang besar ini, duduk di atas pancang?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds karmic moral causality: intense suffering is treated as having an ethical antecedent, and the proper response is truthful inquiry into one’s actions (pāpa) so that responsibility and moral understanding can arise.
A group of listeners addresses a Brahmin who is seen undergoing a severe punishment—sitting upon a śūla—and asks him to disclose what wrongdoing led to this condition, seeking the story behind the visible suffering.