Shloka 7
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Remorse and Vyāsa’s Teaching on Impermanence (Śoka-nivāraṇa)
प्राडमुखं सीदमानं च रथे पररथारुजम् । घूर्णमानं यथा शैलं तदा मे कश्मलो5भवत्,जो शत्रुदलके रथियोंको पीड़ा देनेमें समर्थ थे, वे पूर्वकी ओर मुँह करके चुपचाप बैठे हुए बाणोंका आघात सह रहे थे और जैसे पर्वत हिल रहा हो, उसी प्रकार झूम रहे थे। उस समय उनकी यह अवस्था देखकर मुझे मूर्छा-सी आ गयी थी
prāḍmukhaṃ sīdamānaṃ ca rathe pararathārujam | ghūrṇamānaṃ yathā śailaṃ tadā me kaśmalo 'bhavat ||
坚战说道：“当我看见他立于战车之上——面向东方，沉入无助，忍受箭雨的侵袭——又如震颤之山般摇晃之时，我忽然被一种道德与情感的崩塌攫住。眼见那位曾能折磨敌方车战勇士的人竟沦落至此，我的心神被昏眩与迷惘所淹没。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how witnessing the fall or suffering of a powerful warrior can trigger kaśmala—an inner collapse marked by grief and ethical disorientation. It frames Yudhiṣṭhira’s later dharma-inquiry: true righteousness must be sought when the mind is shaken by the consequences of violence, even when war was fought under duty.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls seeing a formidable fighter on a chariot, turned eastward, silently enduring a barrage of arrows and swaying as if a mountain were trembling. That sight overwhelms him, and he experiences faintness and confusion (kaśmala), setting the emotional ground for his reflections in Śānti Parva.