Shloka 5

आशा-कृशता उपाख्यानम्

The Episode on the Emaciation Caused by Hope

Devanagari script

सो<हं हताशो दुर्बुद्धि: कृतस्तेन दुरात्मना । धार्तराष्ट्रेण राजेन्द्र पश्य मन्दात्मतां मम,राजेन्द्र! उस दुरात्मा धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रने मुझ दुर्बुद्धिको हताश कर दिया। देखिये, मैं कैसा मन्दभाग्य हूँ

Transliteration

so 'haṃ hatāśo durbuddhiḥ kṛtas tena durātmanā | dhārtarāṣṭreṇa rājendra paśya mandātmatāṃ mama ||

Translation

యుధిష్ఠిరుడు అన్నాడు—రాజేంద్రా! ఆ దురాత్మ ధృతరాష్ట్రపుత్రుడు నన్ను నిరాశలోకి నెట్టివేసి, నన్ను మూర్ఖుడిలా చేశాడు. చూడండి, నా మనోబలం ఎంత క్షీణమైందో; నా దుస్థితి ఎంత దయనీయమో.

Word by Word

सःhe / that (I)

अहम्I

हताशःhopeless, dejected

दुर्बुद्धिःa foolish person / of bad intellect

कृतःmade (to be)

तेनby him

दुरात्मनाby the wicked-souled one

धार्तराष्ट्रेणby the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

पश्यsee, behold

मन्दात्मताम्dull-wittedness, wretchedness

ममof me, my

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Dhārtarāṣṭra (a son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra; contextually Duryodhana)

rājendra (addressed king; interlocutor not named in this pāda)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moral introspection: even a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira recognizes how despair and humiliation can expose inner weakness, urging self-examination rather than mere blame.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s reflective setting after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in grief and self-reproach, saying that the Kaurava (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son) has driven him into hopelessness and made him appear foolish, and he asks the addressed king to witness his diminished state.