Shloka 10
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
पापीयान् स हि शूद्रेभ्यस्तस्करेभ्यो विशिष्यते । शास्त्रातिगो मन्दबुद्धियों धर्ममभिशड्गकते,जो मन्दबुद्धि पुरुष शास्त्रोंकी मर्यादाका उल्लंघन करके धर्मके विषयमें आशंका करता है, वह शूद्रों और चोरोंसे भी बढ़कर पापी है
pāpīyān sa hi śūdrebyas taskarebhyo viśiṣyate | śāstrātigo mandabuddhir dharmam abhiśaṅkate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Mais pecador, de fato, é o homem de entendimento obtuso que ultrapassa os limites dos śāstras e depois lança suspeita sobre o dharma; ele supera até mesmo os śūdras e os ladrões em maldade. Pois, ao violar o ensinamento autorizado e duvidar da retidão, abala o próprio alicerce da ordem moral.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that violating authoritative moral guidance (śāstra) and then doubting or maligning dharma is a grave fault. Such skepticism born of transgression is portrayed as more harmful than ordinary social or criminal wrongdoing because it destabilizes ethical order.
Yudhiṣṭhira is speaking in a reflective, didactic mode, evaluating degrees of sin and emphasizing reverence for dharma as understood through śāstra. He contrasts common categories of wrongdoing (theft, low conduct) with the deeper danger of rejecting or suspecting dharma after crossing prescribed limits.