Shloka 30
Vyāsa’s Counsel to the Concealed Pāṇḍavas; Śaṃkara’s Boon and the Predestination of Draupadī
Chapter 157
अथवा मद्विनाशो<यं न हि शक्ष्यामि कंचन । परित्यक्तुमहं बन्धुं स्वयं जीवन् नृशंसवत्,अथवा यह मेरे ही विनाशका समय है; क्योंकि मैं स्वयं जीवित रहकर क्रूर मनुष्यकी भाँति दूसरे किसी भाई-बंधुका त्याग नहीं कर सकूँगा
athavā madvināśo 'yaṃ na hi śakṣyāmi kañcana | parityaktum ahaṃ bandhuṃ svayaṃ jīvan nṛśaṃsavat ||
وإلا فلابدّ أن تكون هذه ساعة هلاكي أنا؛ إذ لا أستطيع أن أحمل نفسي على هجران أيّ ذي رحم. ما دمت حيًّا فلن أنبذ قريبًا كما يفعل رجلٌ قاسٍ لا رحمة في قلبه.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The speaker frames abandoning one’s kin as an act of nṛśaṃsatā (pitiless cruelty). Even at personal cost, he upholds a dharmic ethic of loyalty and compassion toward family bonds.
A brāhmaṇa speaker confronts a crisis where he might be compelled to forsake a relative. He rejects that option outright, declaring that if such abandonment is required, it would be better for him to perish than to live as a cruel man.