Shloka 5
आशा-कृशता उपाख्यानम्
The Episode on the Emaciation Caused by Hope
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
so 'haṃ hatāśo durbuddhiḥ kṛtas tena durātmanā | dhārtarāṣṭreṇa rājendra paśya mandātmatāṃ mama ||
یُدھشٹھِر نے کہا—اے راجندر! اُس بدباطن دھرتراشٹر کے بیٹے نے مجھے نااُمید کر دیا اور مجھے گویا نادان ٹھہرا دیا۔ دیکھئے، میرا حوصلہ کتنا پست ہو گیا ہے؛ میری حالت کتنی قابلِ رحم ہے۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.