Shloka 23
अध्याय २६ — युद्ध-निन्दा, काम-दोष, तथा धार्तराष्ट्र-नीति-विश्लेषण
War-aversion, Desire as a Policy Fault, and Analysis of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Governance
अव्याधिजं कटुकं शीर्षरोगि यशोमुषं पापफलोदयं वा । सतां पेयं यन्न पिबन्त्यसन्तो मन्युं महाराज पिब प्रशाम्य,महाराज! जो बिना व्याधिके ही उत्पन्न होता है, स्वादमें कडुआ है, जिसके कारण सिरमें दर्द होने लगता है, जो यशका नाशक और पापरूप फलको प्रकट करनेवाला है, जो सज्जन पुरुषोंके ही पीने योग्य है, जिसे असाधु पुरुष नहीं पीते हैं, उस क्रोधको आप पी लीजिये और शान्त हो जाइये
sañjaya uvāca |
avyādhijaṁ kaṭukaṁ śīrṣarogi yaśomuṣaṁ pāpaphalodayaṁ vā |
satāṁ peyaṁ yan na pibanty asanto manyuṁ mahārāja piba praśāmya ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, drink down that wrath and become calm—wrath that arises without any real injury, tastes bitter, brings headache, steals away one’s good fame, and ripens into sinful consequences. It is a draught fit only for the truly noble; the ignoble do not drink it.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger is portrayed as a bitter, reputation-destroying force that matures into sinful consequences; true nobility lies in ‘drinking’ (absorbing and mastering) it through self-restraint and calming the mind.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), urging him to pacify himself by mastering unprovoked wrath, framing anger as a harmful ‘drink’ that only the virtuous can truly take in and neutralize.