Shloka 233
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
आसीन एवमेवेदं शोषयिष्ये कलेवरम् । अतः मैं पापी, अपराधी तथा सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलका विनाश करनेवाला हूँ; इसलिये यहीं इसी रूपमें बैठा हुआ अपने इस शरीरको सुखा डालूँगा
āsīna evam evedaṃ śoṣayiṣye kalevaram | ataḥ mayā pāpī aparādhī tathā sampūrṇa-bhūmaṇḍala-vināśa-kartā asmi; tasmād ihaiva īdṛśa-rūpeṇa āsīnaḥ svaṃ śarīraṃ śoṣayiṣye |
Yudhiṣṭhira nói: “Cứ ngồi nguyên như thế này, ta sẽ để thân xác này mòn mỏi mà khô héo. Bởi ta là kẻ có tội, kẻ phạm lỗi, kẻ đã gieo tai họa cho toàn cõi đất; vì vậy, ngay tại đây, trong chính tư thế này, ta sẽ làm cho thân ta khô kiệt.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights moral accountability after violence: even a righteous king can be overwhelmed by the ethical weight of war’s consequences, and the impulse toward self-punishment (austerity/fasting) arises from a desire for expiation and restoration of dharma.
Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the devastation following the great war, declares that he will remain seated and let his body waste away, judging himself a sinner and the cause of the earth’s ruin—an expression of intense remorse and a turn toward ascetic self-denial.