Shloka 14
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
ममापि चेद् भवेदेवमी श्वरस्य सतो महत् | उपेक्षमाणस्य पुनर्लोकानां किल्बिषाद् भयम्
mama api ced bhaved evam īśvarasya sataḥ mahat | upekṣamāṇasya punar lokānāṁ kilbiṣād bhayam | śaktiṁ cāpi hi dharmajña nātikrāntum ihārhasi | prajāyāś ca mamocchedaṁ na caivaṁ kartum arhasi ||
Aurva dit : «Même moi—bien que pourvu de puissance—j’encourrais la crainte du péché si je demeurais indifférent tandis que les hommes commettent une faute si grande. Et toi aussi, connaisseur du dharma, ne dois pas franchir les limites fixées par Śakti. Il n’est pas juste non plus que tu provoques ainsi la destruction de ma lignée.»
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power does not justify indifference or excess: a capable person incurs moral fault by silently tolerating grave wrongdoing, yet even righteous anger must remain within dharmic limits and must not lead to unjust destruction of others’ progeny.
Aurva speaks to a dharma-knowing interlocutor, warning that passive disregard of widespread wrongdoing brings fear of sin, and urging him not to transgress the standard associated with Śakti nor to cause the annihilation of Aurva’s descendants.