पुत्रस्नेहाभिभूतेन मया चाप्य् अकृतात्मना ॥
धर्मे स्थिता महात्मानो निकृताः पाण्डुनन्दनाः ॥
शमकामः सदा पार्थो दीर्घप्रेक्षी युधिष्ठिरः ॥
अशक्त इति मन्वानैः पुत्रैर् मम निराकृतः ॥
तानि दुःखान्य् अनेकानि विप्रकारांश् च सर्वशः ॥
हृदि कृत्वा महाबाहुर् भीमो ऽयुध्यत सूतजम् ॥
तस्मान् मे संजय ब्रूहि कर्णभीमौ यथा रणे ॥
अयुध्येतां युधि श्रेष्ठौ परस्परवधैषिणौ ॥
putrasnehābhibhūtena mayā cāpy akṛtātmanā ||
dharme sthitā mahātmāno nikṛtāḥ pāṇḍunandanāḥ ||
śamakāmaḥ sadā pārtho dīrghaprekṣī yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
aśakta iti manvānaiḥ putrair mama nirākṛtaḥ ||
tāni duḥkhāny anekāni viprakārāṃś ca sarvaśaḥ ||
hṛdi kṛtvā mahābāhur bhīmo 'yudhyata sūtajam ||
tasmān me saṃjaya brūhi karṇabhīmau yathā raṇe ||
ayudhyetāṃ yudhi śreṣṭhau parasparavadhaiṣiṇau ||
"Overcome by love for my son, and by me, who did not master myself, the sons of Pandu — steadfast in dharma, great of soul — were wronged. Partha Yudhishthira, ever desiring peace, far-seeing, deemed 'powerless,' was spurned by my sons. Laying up in his heart those many sorrows and every insult, the mighty-armed Bhima fought against the son of the charioteer. Therefore tell me, Sanjaya, how Karna and Bhima, the foremost in battle, each seeking the other's destruction, fought in the fray."
64ec1dae82de · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:34 PM UTC
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A rare moment of direct confession: the king blames not fate but himself — "who did not master myself," akṛtātmā, overcome by love for his son. It is significant that Yudhishthira's peaceableness was taken for powerlessness: a fool mistakes the gentleness of the meek for weakness. The verse teaches that blind partiality toward one's own makes even the righteous seem wronged; whoever has not mastered his own heart will wrong even a righteous man, and afterward will only mourn what was done.