Shloka 5
मा कुलस्य क्षये घोरे कारणं त्वं भविष्यसि । बद्धं सेतुं को नु भिन्द्याद् धमेच्छान्तं च पावकम्,“इस कुलके भयंकर विनाशमें स्वयं ही कारण न बनिये। भरतश्रेष्ठ! बँधे हुए पुलको कौन तोड़ेगा? बुझी हुई वैरकी आगको फिर कौन भड़कायेगा? कुन्तीके शान्तिपरायण पुत्रोंकी फिर कुपित करनेका साहस कौन करेगा? अजमीढकुलके रत्न! आप सब कुछ जानते और याद रखते हैं, तो भी मैं पुन आपको स्मरण दिलाती रहूँगी
mā kulasya kṣaye ghore kāraṇaṁ tvaṁ bhaviṣyasi | baddhaṁ setuṁ ko nu bhindyād dhamecchāntaṁ ca pāvakam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Do not become the very cause of a dreadful destruction of your lineage. O best of the Bharatas, who would break a bridge once it has been firmly bound? Who would rekindle a fire that has been quenched? In the same way, who would dare to inflame again the pacified sons of Kuntī? You know and remember everything; yet I will keep reminding you—do not turn back toward ruin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges restraint and responsibility: do not become the agent of catastrophic family ruin. Once peace has been established—like a secured bridge or a quenched fire—it is unethical and dangerous to undo it by provoking old hostilities.
In the Sabha Parva context of escalating rivalry, the speaker (as reported by Vaiśampāyana) warns a Bharata prince not to reignite conflict—especially against Kuntī’s sons—using vivid metaphors of breaking a bound bridge and rekindling an extinguished fire.