Shloka 193
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
ज्येष्ठभ्रातरमत्युग्रं को मत्त: पापकृत्तम: | यह अत्यन्त दुष्कर पापकर्म करके मैं किन लोकोंमें जाऊँगा? युद्धमें कभी पीठ न दिखानेवाले अत्यन्त उग्र पराक्रमी अपने बड़े भाई कर्णको भी मैंने मरवा दिया--मुझसे बढ़कर महान् पापाचारी दूसरा कौन होगा?
jyeṣṭhabhrātaram atyugraṃ ko mattaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | yad atyanta-duṣkaraṃ pāpakarma kṛtvāhaṃ kin lokeṣu yāsyāmi? yuddhe kadācid pṛṣṭhaṃ na darśayantaṃ atyanta-ugra-parākramiṇaṃ sva-jyeṣṭha-bhrātaraṃ karṇam api mayā māritam—matto ’dhikaḥ mahān pāpācārī dvitīyaḥ kaḥ syāt?
युधिष्ठिर उवाच— ज्येष्ठभ्रातरमत्युग्रं कर्णं भीमपराक्रमम् । मया निहतकारणं कृतं—को मत्तः पापकृत्तमः ॥ एवं दुष्करमत्यन्तं पापकर्म समाचरन् । कान् लोकान् प्रतिपत्स्यामि—कः स्याद् मत्तोऽधिकः पुमान् ॥ युद्धे कदाचन पृष्ठं न दर्शयन् महाबलः । स एव कर्णो निहतो मया—कोऽन्योऽस्ति पापवान् मम ॥
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability after violence: even a war fought under claims of dharma can leave the righteous burdened by remorse, forcing reflection on intention, consequence, and the fear of karmic retribution.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments that he has caused the death of Karna—later known to be his elder brother—and condemns himself as the greatest sinner, anxiously questioning what fate awaits him in the next worlds.