Shloka 2
Vasiṣṭha on Saṃsāra, Guṇas, and Misattributed Agency
Mahābhārata 12.292
गौरवेण परित्यक्तं नि:स्नेहं परिवर्जयेत् । सोदर्य भ्रातरमपि किमुतान्यं पृथग्जनम्
gauraveṇa parityaktaṁ niḥsnehaṁ parivarjayet | sodaryā bhrātaram api kim utānyaṁ pṛthagjanam ||
जो व्यक्ति तिरस्कारपूर्वक त्याग दे और स्नेहरहित हो, उसका परित्याग कर देना चाहिये। यदि ऐसी दशा में सगे भाई तक का त्याग उचित है, तो फिर पराये साधारण जन की तो बात ही क्या।
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not cling to relationships that are marked by contempt and absence of affection; self-respect and ethical discernment may require distancing oneself even from close kin, and certainly from outsiders.
In a didactic passage of the Śānti Parva, the sage Parāśara delivers a moral instruction on how to respond to rejection and lovelessness, using the strong example of a uterine brother to emphasize the principle.