युधिष्ठिर उवाच
किम् इदं साहसं तीक्ष्णं भवत्या दुष्कृतं कृतम् ॥
परित्यागं हि पुत्रस्य न प्रशंसन्ति साधवः ॥
कथं परसुतस्यार्थे स्वसुतं त्यक्तुम् इच्छसि ॥
लोकवृत्तिविरुद्धं वै पुत्रत्यागात् कृतं त्वया ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
kim idaṃ sāhasaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ bhavatyā duṣkṛtaṃ kṛtam ||
parityāgaṃ hi putrasya na praśaṃsanti sādhavaḥ ||
kathaṃ parasutasyārthe svasutaṃ tyaktum icchasi ||
lokavṛttiviruddhaṃ vai putratyāgāt kṛtaṃ tvayā ||
Yudhishthira said: "What is this reckless, harsh, evil deed you have done? For the good do not approve of giving up a son. How can you wish to give up your own son for the sake of another's son? Contrary to the custom of the world is what you have done in giving up a son."
0a6135c2881f · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
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Here Yudhishthira objects out of love, not out of selfishness. It is notable that his reproach rests on dharma and on nature itself: to give up a son for the sake of a stranger seems to him contrary both to law and to "the custom of the world." Here two goods collide: devotion to a benefactor and love for one's own son; both are sacred, and hence the choice is agonizing. Notable too is that Yudhishthira, himself ready for sacrifice, fears for his brother — he is not concerned for himself. Thus the scripture shows that even the righteous may differ in their discernment of the good; and from this dispute of loving hearts is born not discord but the fullness of truth, when Kunti reveals what had been hidden from her eldest son.