Shloka 38
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
अर्थार्थमन्यद् भवति विपरीतमथापरम् । अनर्थार्थमथाप्यन्यत् तत् सर्व हार्थकारणम् । एवं बुद्धया सम्प्रपश्येन्मेधावी कार्यनिश्चयम्
arthārtham anyad bhavati viparītam athāparam | anarthārtham athāpy anyat tat sarva-hārtha-kāraṇam | evaṁ buddhyā samprapaśyen medhāvī kārya-niścayam | āpatti-kālam |
Une conduite engendre le gain, une autre se révèle à l’inverse; et une autre encore, quoique paraissant mener à la perte, devient la cause même de l’accomplissement de tous les buts. Ainsi, l’homme avisé doit considérer avec discernement et, surtout en temps de crise, décider ce qu’il convient de faire.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outcomes can invert in a crisis: what seems beneficial may become harmful, and what seems costly may become the means to secure larger goals. Therefore one should decide duties by clear, context-sensitive discernment rather than by fixed labels of ‘profit’ and ‘loss’.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma advises the listener that policy and duty must be judged by circumstances—especially during calamity—because the same action can yield opposite results depending on time and conditions.