Mbh 9.59.1c

Mahabharata · translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli

Through thy own fault this great calamity has come upon thee, due to avarice and pride and folly, O Bharata! Having caused thy companions and brothers and sires and sons and grandsons and others to be all slain, thou comest now by thy own death. In consequence of thy fault, thy brothers, mighty car-warriors all, and thy kinsmen have been slain by us. I think all this to be the work of irresistible Destiny. Thou art not to be pitied. On the other hand, thy death, O sinless one, is enviable. It is we that deserve to be pitied in every respect, O Kaurava! We shall have to drag on a miserable existence, reft of all our dear friends and kinsmen. Alas, how shall I behold the widows, overwhelmed with grief and deprived of their senses by sorrow, of my brothers and sons and grandsons! Thou, O king, departest from this world! Thou art sure to have thy residence in heaven! We, on the other hand, shall be reckoned as creatures of hell, and shall continue to suffer the most poignant grief! The grief-afflicted wives of Dhritarashtra's sons and grandsons, those widows crushed with sorrow, will without doubt, curse us all!" Having said these words, Dharma's royal son, Yudhishthira, deeply afflicted with grief, began to breathe hard and indulge in lamentations.'"

Mbh 9.59.1c · Mahabharata · Shalya-parva

Themes in this passage

Grief Children Death Suffering Dharma The Divine Doubt Friendship

Grief in other traditions

The same theme, as Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam address it.

Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

James 4:9 · Bible · James

From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.

Dhp 16.212 · Dhammapada · Pleasure

On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand. The second in command of the army has his place on the left; the general commanding in chief has his on the right;--his place, that is, is assigned to him as in the rites of mourning. He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.

Tao Te Ching 31.3 · Tao Te Ching

And he turned away from them and said: Alas, my grief for Joseph! And his eyes were whitened with the sorrow that he was suppressing.

Quran 12:84 · Quran · Joseph

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