Shloka 44
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
कि मे राज्येन भोगैर्वा कि यज्ञै: कि सुखेन वा । यस्य मे त्वं महीपाल दुःखान्येतान्यवाप्तवान्
ki me rājyena bhogair vā ki yajñaiḥ ki sukhena vā | yasya me tvaṁ mahīpāla duḥkhāny etāny avāptavān ||
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Vương quyền có ích gì cho ta, hưởng lạc có ích gì, tế lễ có ích gì—ngay cả hạnh phúc tự thân có ích gì—khi vì ta, hỡi bậc hộ trì cõi đất, ngài đã phải chịu những nỗi khổ này?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse voices a dharmic critique of power and pleasure when they are shadowed by harm to others: sovereignty, enjoyment, ritual merit, and even personal happiness lose value if they rest upon another’s suffering. It highlights moral accountability and the impulse toward renunciation born from compassion and remorse.
In the Āśramavāsika context, Yudhiṣṭhira laments the aftermath of the great conflict and its burdens. Addressing a kingly figure as “mahīpāla,” he declares that rulership and its rewards feel meaningless to him, since ‘because of me’ that person has had to endure grievous sorrows—an expression of grief and responsibility in the post-war world.