Shloka 32
आत्मनो हि वयं दोषाद् विनष्टा: शाश्वती: समा: । प्रदहन्तो दिश: सर्वा भास्वरा इव तेजसा,हमलोगोंने तेजसे प्रकाशित होनेवाली सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें मानो आग लगा दी और अपने ही दोषसे सदाके लिये नष्ट हो गये
ātmano hi vayaṃ doṣād vinaṣṭāḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ | pradahanto diśaḥ sarvā bhāsvārā iva tejasā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Em verdade, por nossa própria culpa fomos arruinados por anos sem fim. Ardendo em poder como fogos radiantes, parecíamos incendiar todas as direções — mas esse mesmo brilho, mal empregado, tornou-se a causa de nossa destruição duradoura.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power (tejas) and success can appear dazzling, but when driven by doṣa (fault—such as anger, ambition, or moral lapse), they lead to long-lasting ruin. The verse stresses personal accountability: the catastrophe is owned as ‘our own fault,’ not blamed on fate alone.
In Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the devastation following the great war. He describes how their blazing might seemed to scorch the whole world (‘all directions’), yet that very course—tainted by their own failings—has left them inwardly destroyed for a long time.