Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
अनिर्वेद: सदा कार्यों निर्वेदाद्धि कुतः सुखम् । प्रयत्नात् प्राप्यते हार्थ: कस्माद् गच्छथ निर्दयम्
jambuka uvāca | anirvedaḥ sadā kāryo nirvedād dhi kutaḥ sukham | prayatnāt prāpyate hy arthaḥ kasmād gacchatha nirdayam ||
জম্বুকে ক’লে—নিরাশা কেতিয়াও মনত স্থান দিব নালাগে; কিয়নো খেদৰ পৰা সুখ ক’ত? চেষ্টা কৰিলেহে অভীষ্ট লাভ হয়। তেন্তে এই শিশুটিক ৰক্ষা কৰাৰ চেষ্টা এৰি, তোমালোকে ইমান নিৰ্দয় হৈ ক’লৈ গুচি যোৱা?
जम्बुक उवाच
Do not give mental space to dejection; happiness and success arise from sustained effort. Ethically, one must not abandon compassionate duty—especially the protection of a vulnerable child—out of fatigue or discouragement.
Jambuka rebukes a group who are withdrawing from the effort to safeguard a child. He urges them to persist, arguing that goals are achieved only through exertion and that leaving the child unprotected is an act of cruelty.