Shloka 10

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

Devanagari script

वत्सलत्वाद द्विजश्रेष्ठ तत्र मे नास्ति संशय: । व्यक्त सौक्ष्म्याच्च धर्मस्य प्राप्स्याम: स्त्रीवधं वयम्‌,द्विजश्रेष्ठ) वे अपने सगे-सम्बन्धियोंके प्रति वात्सल्य रखनेके कारण अवश्य ऐसा ही करेंगी, इसमें मुझे संशय नहीं है। धर्मकी गति सूक्ष्म होनेके कारण निश्चय ही हमें नारीहत्याके पापका भागी होना पड़ेगा

Transliteration

vatsalatvād dvijaśreṣṭha tatra me nāsti saṁśayaḥ | vyakta-saukṣmyāc ca dharmasya prāpsyāmaḥ strī-vadhaṁ vayam ||

Translation

Юдхиштхира сказал: «О лучший из дважды-рождённых, у меня нет сомнений: из нежной привязанности к своим родным они непременно поступят так. А поскольку путь дхармы тонок и трудно различим, мы и сами неизбежно понесём долю греха — греха убийства женщин».

Word by Word

• {'vatsalatvāt': 'from affection, tender attachment (especially toward one’s own)', 'dvijaśreṣṭha': 'O best of the twice-born

• an honorific for a Brahmin sage', 'tatra': 'in that matter, regarding that point', 'me': 'to me, in my view', 'nāsti saṁśayaḥ': 'there is no doubt', 'vyakta': 'clearly, certainly', 'saukṣmyāt': 'because of subtlety

• due to being difficult to judge', 'dharma': 'righteous duty

• the right course of action', 'prāpsyāmaḥ': 'we shall obtain/meet with

• we shall incur', 'strī-vadham': 'the killing of women

• woman-slaying', 'vayam': 'we'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• dvijaśreṣṭha (addressed Brahmin/sage)
• striyaḥ (women, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when one’s intention is not directly to harm, moral responsibility can still arise because dharma is subtle; affectionate attachment and foreseeable consequences can make one complicit in wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a Brahmin sage, expressing certainty that women, driven by affection for their relatives, will act in a way that leads to tragic outcomes; he fears that, given dharma’s subtle nature, his side will bear the guilt of ‘woman-slaying’ as a consequence.