Shloka 16
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 132 — Vidura’s Counsel on Udyama, Yaśas, and Kṣātra-Dharma
कृत्वा मानुष्यकं कर्म सृत्वाजिं यावदुत्तमम् । धर्मस्यानृण्यमाप्रोति न चात्मानं विगर्हते,वीर पुरुष युद्धमें जाकर यथाशक्ति उत्तम पुरुषार्थ प्रकट करके धर्मके ऋणसे उऋण होता है और अपनी निन्दा नहीं कराता है
kṛtvā mānuṣyakaṃ karma sṛtvājiṃ yāvad uttamam | dharmasyānṛṇyam āpnoti na cātmānaṃ vigarhate ||
Habiendo cumplido el deber propio de un ser humano—entrando en la batalla y esforzándose hasta el límite de sus fuerzas, mostrando el más alto empeño varonil—un hombre heroico queda libre de la deuda que debe al dharma, y no cae en el reproche de sí mismo.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should perform one’s rightful human duty with full effort; by acting up to one’s capacity in a righteous cause, a person becomes free of obligation to dharma and avoids the inner stain of self-reproach.
Vāyudeva is instructing about the ethical value of courageous action in battle: a hero who enters combat and strives to the utmost fulfills dharma’s claim upon him and preserves his honor and self-respect.