Shloka 69
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
वैरमन्तिकमासाद्य य:ः प्रीतिं कर्तुमिच्छति । मृन्मयस्येव भग्नस्य यथा संधिर्न विद्यते
vairam āntikam āsādya yaḥ prītiṃ kartum icchati | mṛṇmayasyeva bhagnasya yathā sandhir na vidyate ||
Brahmadatta dit : «Quand l’inimitié a été poussée jusqu’à sa limite ultime — celle qui ne s’achève que par la mort —, quiconque veut alors établir l’affection la trouve impossible. Un tel amour ne se rétablit pas, comme un vase d’argile brisé qui ne peut plus être rejoint en vérité.»
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
If hostility is allowed to harden to the point of mortal, irreversible conflict, later attempts at affection or reconciliation are futile; some ruptures—like a shattered clay pot—cannot be made whole again.
In a didactic exchange within the Śānti Parva, Brahmadatta offers a moral observation using a concrete metaphor: once enmity has reached its terminal extreme, the possibility of restoring genuine friendship is effectively lost.