Shloka 30
Bhīṣma on the Śara-Śayyā: Yudhiṣṭhira and Kṛṣṇa Approach the Eldest for Śānti
कि पुनश्नात्मनो लोकानुत्तमानुत्तमैर्गुणै: । तदस्य तप्यमानस्य ज्ञातीनां संक्षयेन वै
ki punaśnātmano lokān uttamān uttamaiḥ guṇaiḥ | tad asya tapyamānasya jñātīnāṃ saṃkṣayeṇa vai
वैशम्पायन उवाच—किं पुनरात्मनः लोकानुत्तमानुत्तमैर्गुणैर्लभेत? स तु शोकसन्तप्तः, ज्ञातीनां संक्षयेनैव दुःखहेतुना परितप्यत।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the promise of exalted rewards gained through virtue can be eclipsed by the moral and emotional burden of harming one’s own people; the verse highlights the ethical weight of kin-slaying and the torment it produces.
Vaiśampāyana comments on a person who is inwardly tormented; despite talk of attaining the highest realms through excellent qualities, his mind is consumed by the loss and destruction of his relatives.