धौन्धुमारोपाख्यानम्
Dhaundhumāra-Upākhyāna: The Slaying of Dhundhu and the Epithet ‘Dhundhumāra’
क्रूर: कौरव्य मृदवे मृदुः क्रूरे च कौरव । साधुश्नासाधवे साधु: साधवे नाप्लुयात् कथम्
krūraḥ kauravya mṛdave mṛduḥ krūre ca kaurava | sādhuś ca asādhave sādhuḥ sādhave nāpluyāt katham ||
হে কৌৰব্য! ক্ৰূৰৰ প্ৰতি ক্ৰূৰ হোৱা, আৰু মৃদুৰ প্ৰতি মৃদু হোৱা। সাধুজন অসাধুৰ প্ৰতিও সাধুতাই ৰাখে; তেন্তে সাধুৰ প্ৰতি সাধু নহ’ব—সেয়া কেনেকৈ সম্ভৱ?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Ethical discernment in conduct: respond firmly to cruelty and gently to gentleness, while maintaining the inner standard of goodness—especially, goodness naturally expresses itself toward the good.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, in the course of his narration, addresses a Kuru prince with a maxim on proper behavior, contrasting how one should relate to the cruel, the gentle, the wicked, and the virtuous.