Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
ज्येष्ठभ्रातरमत्युग्रं को मत्त: पापकृत्तम: | यह अत्यन्त दुष्कर पापकर्म करके मैं किन लोकोंमें जाऊँगा? युद्धमें कभी पीठ न दिखानेवाले अत्यन्त उग्र पराक्रमी अपने बड़े भाई कर्णको भी मैंने मरवा दिया--मुझसे बढ़कर महान् पापाचारी दूसरा कौन होगा?
jyeṣṭhabhrātaram atyugraṃ ko mattaḥ pāpakṛttamaḥ | yad atyanta-duṣkaraṃ pāpakarma kṛtvāhaṃ kin lokeṣu yāsyāmi? yuddhe kadācid pṛṣṭhaṃ na darśayantaṃ atyanta-ugra-parākramiṇaṃ sva-jyeṣṭha-bhrātaraṃ karṇam api mayā māritam—matto ’dhikaḥ mahān pāpācārī dvitīyaḥ kaḥ syāt?
尤提士提罗说道:“我竟促成了自己长兄之死——迦尔纳,性烈如火、威力可怖——世间还有谁比我更为罪人?犯下这等极难赎偿、极其惨烈的罪业之后,我将堕往何等诸界?我竟使迦尔纳也被诛杀——那位至勇无双、战阵之中从不背敌而退的英雄。还有谁能比我更深地染上罪垢?”
युधिछिर उवाच
The verse foregrounds moral accountability after violence: even a war fought under claims of dharma can leave the righteous burdened by remorse, forcing reflection on intention, consequence, and the fear of karmic retribution.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira laments that he has caused the death of Karna—later known to be his elder brother—and condemns himself as the greatest sinner, anxiously questioning what fate awaits him in the next worlds.