Shloka 23

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)

Devanagari script

सदैव निकृतिप्रज्ञो द्वेश मायोपजीवन: । मिथ्याविनीत: सततमस्मास्वनपकारिषु,हमलोगोंने कभी कोई बुराई नहीं की थी तो भी राजा धृतराष्ट्र सदा हमसे द्वेष रखते थे। उनकी बुद्धि निरन्तर हमें ठगनेकी ही बात सोचा करती थी। वे मायाका आश्रय लेनेवाले थे और झूठे ही विनय अथवा नम्रता दिखाया करते थे

Transliteration

sadaiva nikṛtiprajño dveṣa-māyopajīvanaḥ | mithyā-vinītaḥ satatam asmāsv anapakāriṣu ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Dhṛtarāṣṭra sentiasa berakal yang terlatih dalam tipu daya, hidup dengan kebencian dan muslihat. Walaupun kami tidak pernah berbuat mudarat kepadanya, dia terus-menerus hanya memperlihatkan kerendahan hati yang palsu—fikirannya sentiasa condong untuk memperdaya kami.”

Word by Word

सदैवalways, indeed always

निकृतिप्रज्ञःone whose intelligence is set on deceit

द्वेषीhateful, bearing enmity

मायोपजीवनःliving by deceit/illusion; one who subsists on trickery

मिथ्याfalsely, in vain, untruly

विनीतःwell-behaved; (here) showing humility

सततम्constantly

अस्मासुin us / towards us

अनपकारिषुamong those who do no harm (to him)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns governance and relationships driven by hatred and deception: pretended humility and reliance on guile are ethical failures, especially when directed against the harmless. It highlights that inner intention (buddhi/prajñā) matters more than outward politeness.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Yudhiṣṭhira’s reflection, he characterizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra as consistently hostile toward the Pāṇḍavas despite their lack of wrongdoing, accusing him of sustained deceitful intent and of masking it with feigned humility.