Shloka 38
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
कुतश्चापीदृशं पापा: प्रवर्तिष्पयामहे वयम्
kutaścāpīdṛśaṃ pāpāḥ pravartiṣyāmahe vayam
సంజయుడు అన్నాడు— పాపులమైన మేము ఇలాంటి కార్యానికి ఎక్కడి నుంచి ప్రేరితులమయ్యాము?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices moral self-scrutiny: recognizing one’s own pāpa (wrongdoing) and questioning the impulse to proceed with an unethical act, highlighting the inner conflict between conscience and destructive resolve.
In the Sauptika Parva context—after the catastrophic war and amid retaliatory violence—Sañjaya frames the situation with a lamenting question, portraying the Kaurava side’s descent into further wrongdoing and the dawning awareness of its moral gravity.