Shloka 22
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
कृष्णं च पुण्डरीकाक्षं किल्बिषी भ्रूणहा यथा । मैंने राज्यके लोभमें पड़कर जब पर्वतोंपर उत्पन्न हुए सिंहके समान पराक्रमी अभिमन्युको द्रोणाचार्यद्वारा सुरक्षित कौरवसेनामें झोंक दिया, तभीसे भ्रूण-हत्या करनेवाले पापीके समान मैं अर्जुन तथा कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णकी ओर आँख उठाकर देख नहीं पाता हूँ ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kṛṣṇaṃ ca puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ kilbiṣī bhrūṇahā yathā | mayā rājyasya lobhena patitena yadā parvatopajātasiṃhasamaparākramam abhimanyum droṇācāryarakṣitāyāṃ kauravasenāyāṃ prākṣiptam | tadāprabhṛti bhrūṇahatyāpāpīva ahaṃ arjunaṃ ca kamalanayanaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ ca ūrdhvaṃ cakṣuṣā draṣṭuṃ na śaknomi || draupadī cāpi duḥkhārtā pañcaputrair vinākṛtā |
尤提希提罗说道：“我不敢抬眼望向阿周那，也不敢望向莲眼的奎师那，仿佛我是犯下杀胎之罪的恶人。因为贪恋王位，我将阿毗曼纽——勇猛如狮，宛若生于群山之间——投入由德罗那守护的俱卢军阵之中。自那一刻起，我便再也无法仰视他们。德罗帕蒂亦被悲痛折磨，失去了她的五个儿子。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds moral accountability in leadership: desire for power (rājya-lobha) can drive decisions that cause irreparable harm, and the resulting guilt can be so severe that one feels unworthy even to meet the gaze of the righteous. It also shows how war’s consequences extend beyond the battlefield into enduring ethical and familial suffering.
Yudhiṣṭhira confesses that, driven by ambition for the kingdom, he effectively sent Abhimanyu into a deadly situation against the Kaurava forces guarded by Droṇa. He compares his shame to that of a person guilty of the gravest sin and says he cannot look at Arjuna or Kṛṣṇa. He adds that Draupadī is likewise devastated, having lost her five sons.