Shloka 30
Vyāsa’s Counsel to the Concealed Pāṇḍavas; Śaṃkara’s Boon and the Predestination of Draupadī
Chapter 157
अथवा मद्विनाशो<यं न हि शक्ष्यामि कंचन । परित्यक्तुमहं बन्धुं स्वयं जीवन् नृशंसवत्,अथवा यह मेरे ही विनाशका समय है; क्योंकि मैं स्वयं जीवित रहकर क्रूर मनुष्यकी भाँति दूसरे किसी भाई-बंधुका त्याग नहीं कर सकूँगा
athavā madvināśo 'yaṃ na hi śakṣyāmi kañcana | parityaktum ahaṃ bandhuṃ svayaṃ jīvan nṛśaṃsavat ||
O si no, ésta debe de ser la hora de mi propia ruina; pues no puedo obligarme a abandonar a ningún pariente. Mientras yo viva, no repudiaré a un deudo como lo haría un hombre despiadado.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The speaker frames abandoning one’s kin as an act of nṛśaṃsatā (pitiless cruelty). Even at personal cost, he upholds a dharmic ethic of loyalty and compassion toward family bonds.
A brāhmaṇa speaker confronts a crisis where he might be compelled to forsake a relative. He rejects that option outright, declaring that if such abandonment is required, it would be better for him to perish than to live as a cruel man.