Shloka 4
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
तांस्तादृशानहं हत्वा धर्मनित्यान् महीक्षित: । असकृत् सोमपान् वीरान् किं प्राप्स्पामि तपोधन,तपोधन! जो अनेक बार सोमरसका पान कर चुके थे और सदा धर्ममें ही तत्पर रहते थे, वैसे वीर भूपालोंका वध करके मैं कौन-सा फल पाऊँगा?
tāṁs tādṛśān ahaṁ hatvā dharmanityān mahīkṣitaḥ | asakṛt somapān vīrān kiṁ prāpsyāmi tapodhana tapodhana ||
Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Ôi bậc tích chứa khổ hạnh! Con đã giết những vị vua như thế—những anh hùng luôn bền lòng với dharma, từng nhiều lần dự lễ Soma và thọ Soma—thì con sẽ gặt được quả báo gì? Phần thưởng nào có thể dành cho con?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when violence is sanctioned by kṣatriya-duty, the moral weight of killing the righteous remains; Yudhiṣṭhira questions what true ‘fruit’ can arise from an act that feels ethically tainted, highlighting the tension between prescribed duty and inner conscience.
In the aftermath of the great war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks to an ascetic (addressed as tapodhana), lamenting that he has killed kings who were devoted to dharma and accomplished in Vedic sacrifice (Soma rites), and he asks what benefit or outcome he can possibly gain from such slaughter.