Shloka 11
Strī Parva, Adhyāya 2 — Vidura’s Consolation on Kāla, Karma, and the Limits of Lamentation (विदुरोपदेशः)
न चाप्येतान् हतान् युद्धे राजन् शोचितुमर्हसि । प्रमाणं यदि शास्त्राणि गतास्ते परमां गतिम्,राजन! युद्धमें मारे गये इन वीरोंके लिये तो आपको शोक करना ही नहीं चाहिये। यदि आप शास्त्रोंका प्रमाण मानते हैं तो वे निश्चय ही परम गतिको प्राप्त हुए हैं
na cāpyetān hatān yuddhe rājan śocitum arhasi | pramāṇaṃ yadi śāstrāṇi gatās te paramāṃ gatim ||
O king, you should not grieve for these warriors who have been slain in battle. If you accept the authority of the sacred teachings, then know that they have surely attained the highest state; therefore lamentation for them is not fitting.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief should be restrained when it contradicts dharma and śāstric reasoning: those who fall in battle (in a dharmic context) are said to attain an exalted destiny, so the king should not indulge in lamentation.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, Vidura addresses the bereaved king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, urging him to stop mourning the warriors killed in battle by appealing to the authority of the śāstras and their teaching about the fate of such fallen heroes.