Shloka 233
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
आसीन एवमेवेदं शोषयिष्ये कलेवरम् । अतः मैं पापी, अपराधी तथा सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलका विनाश करनेवाला हूँ; इसलिये यहीं इसी रूपमें बैठा हुआ अपने इस शरीरको सुखा डालूँगा
āsīna evam evedaṃ śoṣayiṣye kalevaram | ataḥ mayā pāpī aparādhī tathā sampūrṇa-bhūmaṇḍala-vināśa-kartā asmi; tasmād ihaiva īdṛśa-rūpeṇa āsīnaḥ svaṃ śarīraṃ śoṣayiṣye |
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Sentado exatamente como estou, deixarei este corpo definhar até secar. Pois sou um pecador, um transgressor, e aquele que trouxe ruína sobre toda a terra; por isso, aqui mesmo e nesta postura, farei meu corpo ressecar.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights moral accountability after violence: even a righteous king can be overwhelmed by the ethical weight of war’s consequences, and the impulse toward self-punishment (austerity/fasting) arises from a desire for expiation and restoration of dharma.
Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the devastation following the great war, declares that he will remain seated and let his body waste away, judging himself a sinner and the cause of the earth’s ruin—an expression of intense remorse and a turn toward ascetic self-denial.