Shloka 2

कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve

Devanagari script

सम्मुह्यामि विषीदामि धर्मो मे शिथिलीकृत: । उद्यमं नाधिगच्छामि कदाचित्‌ परिसान्त्वयन्‌

Transliteration

sammuhyāmi viṣīdāmi dharmo me śithilīkṛtaḥ | udyamaṁ nādhigacchāmi kadācit parisāntvayan |

Translation

由提施提罗说道：“听你亲口讲此譬喻，我心神迷惘，沉入忧惧。我的法（dharma）之志已然松弛。纵使我一再自我宽慰、勉力自持，却再也不能在任何时候寻得为法而奋发的力量。”

Word by Word

• {'sammuhyāmi': 'I am confused, deluded, bewildered', 'viṣīdāmi': 'I grieve

• I become dejected', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma

• moral order', 'me': 'my

• of me', 'śithilīkṛtaḥ': 'made slack/loosened

• weakened', 'udyamam': 'effort

• initiative', 'na adhigacchāmi': 'I do not attain/find

• I cannot reach', 'kadācit': 'ever

• at any time', 'parisāntvayan': 'while consoling/soothing (oneself)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a classic dharmic crisis: intense grief and moral shock can weaken one’s capacity for righteous action. It frames the need for guidance that restores clarity, steadiness, and purposeful effort aligned with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s post-war setting, Yudhiṣṭhira confesses to his interlocutor that hearing the preceding discourse/upākhyāna has left him overwhelmed and despondent. He feels his commitment to dharma has slackened and admits he cannot summon the motivation to act, even after repeatedly trying to console himself.