14 Reasons for Sadness According to Mahabharata

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A Long Thread

After the Kuru war, in the moment of a victory that has come at a great cost, Yudhishthira goes to meet Bhishma, who is in his dying breaths.

Yudhisthira’s inquisitive dialogue with Bhishma, which takes place here, spans Shanti and Anushasana parvans of the Mahabharata.

In this dialogue, Yudhishthira asks Bhishma, "Why does one feel sorrow? why does one feel pain?"

Bhishma’s answer is comprehensive, it nearly spans 18 shlokas. The reasons he enlists are both intrinsic and extrinsic in nature.

Reason 1 –

Despite of worldly comforts, when one is in a foreign land, away from home and away from the loved ones, one feels a gnawing loneliness. That makes them long and yearn.

(In Welsh language, there is a beautiful word that captures this longing for home – hiraeth)

Reason 2 –

May be because of personal flaws, but when a person is deserted by their friends and loved ones, then the home itself feels like a foreign land, and that thus makes the person sad.