Shloka 24
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 146 — Brāhmaṇī’s counsel on grief, duty, and protection of children
अपि चेह प्रदग्धेषु भीष्मो5स्मासु पितामह: । कोपं कुर्यात् किमर्थ वा कौरवान् कोपयीत सः,यदि यहाँ हमारे जल जानेपर पितामह भीष्म कौरवोंपर क्रोध भी करें तो वह अनावश्यक है; क्योंकि फिर किस प्रयोजनकी सिद्धिके लिये वे कौरवोंको कुपित करेंगे
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: api ceha pradagdheṣu Bhīṣmo ’smāsu pitāmahaḥ | kopaṃ kuryāt kimartha vā Kauravān kopayīta saḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Selbst wenn wir hier zu Tode verbrannt würden und unser Großvater Bhīṣma darüber Zorn gegen die Kauravas empfände, wäre dieser Zorn zwecklos. Denn wozu sollte er dann die Kauravas erzürnen—welchen Zweck könnte das noch erfüllen?“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger should be judged by its purpose and consequences; when no constructive end can be achieved—especially after irreversible harm—wrath becomes ethically and practically futile.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on a situation where they have been burned (a crisis involving lethal danger) and reasons that even if Bhīṣma were to become angry at the Kauravas, such anger would serve no meaningful aim, since it would only provoke them without remedying what has already occurred.