Shloka 16
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma
कृत्वा मानुष्यकं कर्म सृत्वाजिं यावदुत्तमम् । धर्मस्यानृण्यमाप्रोति न चात्मानं विगर्हते
kṛtvā mānuṣyakaṃ karma sṛtvājiṃ yāvad uttamam | dharmasyānṛṇyam āpnoti na cātmānaṃ vigarhate ||
مَن أدّى ما يليق بالإنسان من واجب—فدخل ساحة القتال وبذل غاية طاقته، مُظهِرًا أسمى جهدٍ رجولي—فإنّ البطل يبرأ من الدَّين الذي عليه تجاه الدارما، ولا يقع في لومِ النفس واحتقارها.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should perform one’s rightful human duty with full effort; by acting up to one’s capacity in a righteous cause, a person becomes free of obligation to dharma and avoids the inner stain of self-reproach.
Vāyudeva is instructing about the ethical value of courageous action in battle: a hero who enters combat and strives to the utmost fulfills dharma’s claim upon him and preserves his honor and self-respect.