Shloka 43

अध्याय ३० — क्रोधदोषाः क्षमाप्रशंसा च

Defects of Anger and the Praise of Forbearance

Devanagari script

अथ कर्म कृतं पापं न चेत्‌ कर्तारमृच्छति । कारणं बलमेवेह जनाञ्छोचामि दुर्बलान्‌,इसके विपरीत, यदि किया हुआ पाप-कर्म कर्ताको नहीं प्राप्त होता तो इसका कारण यहाँ बल ही है (ईश्वर शक्तिशाली हैं, इसीलिये उन्हें पापकर्मका फल नहीं मिलता होगा)। उस दशामें मुझे दुर्बल मनुष्योंके लिये शोक हो रहा है

Transliteration

atha karma kṛtaṃ pāpaṃ na cet kartāram ṛcchati | kāraṇaṃ balam eveha janān śocāmi durbalān ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Se, ao contrário, um ato pecaminoso praticado não recai sobre o seu autor, então a única causa aqui deve ser o mero poder. Nesse caso, eu lamento pelos fracos entre os homens—pois eles é que suportariam as consequências, enquanto os poderosos escapariam.”

Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then

• in that case', 'karma': 'act

• action (with moral consequence)', 'kṛtam': 'done

• performed', 'pāpam': 'sin

• harmful act', 'na cet': 'if not

• if it is not the case that', 'kartāram': 'the doer

• agent (accusative singular)', 'ṛcchati': 'reaches

• befalls', 'kāraṇam': 'cause

• reason', 'balam': 'strength

• force', 'eva': 'indeed

• precisely', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'janān': 'people

• men (accusative plural)', 'śocāmi': 'I grieve

• I lament', 'durbalān': 'the weak

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse questions moral causality: if wrongdoing does not rebound upon the wrongdoer, society collapses into rule by power, and the weak suffer most. It highlights Yudhiṣṭhira’s insistence that dharma requires accountability, not mere dominance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s reflective dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira voices anguish about apparent injustice in the world. He reasons that if sinners can evade consequences through strength, then the powerless are doomed—prompting his lament for ordinary, vulnerable people.