Shloka 48
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
तत्राश्चर्यमपश्याम कुन्तीपुत्रे युथिष्ठिरे । पुरा भूत्वा मृदुर्दान्तो यत् तदा दारुणो5भवत्,वहाँ हमने कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरमें एक आश्वर्यकी बात देखी। वे पहलेसे जितेन्द्रिय और कोमल स्वभावके होकर भी उस समय कठोर हो गये
tatrāścaryam apaśyāma kuntīputre yudhiṣṭhire | purā bhūtvā mṛdur dānto yat tadā dāruṇo 'bhavat ||
Dort sahen wir etwas Erstaunliches an Yudhiṣṭhira, dem Sohn Kuntīs: Obgleich er zuvor sanft und selbstbeherrscht war, wurde er in jenem Augenblick hart und unerbittlich.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a naturally gentle and disciplined person may need to adopt severity when dharma and responsibility demand it; ethical firmness in crisis can look like harshness, yet it can arise from duty rather than cruelty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid the events of the Shalya Parva, he observed a striking change in Yudhiṣṭhira: the usually mild, self-controlled king appeared stern and formidable in that moment of the war.