Shloka 30

Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)

Devanagari script

धर्मव्युच्छित्तिमिच्छन्तो ये<धर्मस्य प्रवर्तका: । हन्तव्यास्ते दुरात्मानो देवैर्देत्या इवोल्बणा:

Transliteration

dharmavyucchittim icchanto ye 'dharmasya pravartakāḥ | hantavyās te durātmāno devair daityā ivolbaṇāḥ ||

Translation

Aqueles que desejam a destruição do dharma—embora se apresentem como promotores da retidão—são maus no íntimo. Tais homens devem ser contidos e, se necessário, destruídos, assim como os deuses abateram os ferozes Daityas.

Word by Word

धर्मdharma, righteousness

व्युच्छित्तिम्destruction, cessation

इच्छन्तःdesiring

येwho, those who

अधर्मस्यof adharma, of unrighteousness

प्रवर्तकाःpromoters, instigators

हन्तव्याःto be slain, should be killed

तेthey, those

दुरात्मानःevil-souled, wicked

देवैःby the gods

देत्याःDaityas (demons)

इवlike, as

उल्बणाःfierce, violent

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Devas

Dāityas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that the gravest threat comes from those who outwardly claim to uphold dharma but actually aim to undermine it; such agents of adharma must be decisively checked for the protection of moral and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa states a principle of governance and ethics: when people deliberately work to extinguish dharma—especially while masquerading as its champions—they should be treated as dangerous enemies, comparable to the Dāityas whom the gods had to subdue.