Shloka 14
Drupada’s Putrakāmeṣṭi: The Sacrificial Birth of Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Kṛṣṇā
आपपत्सु यो धारयति धर्म धर्मविदुत्तम: । व्यसन होव धर्मस्य धर्मिणामापदुच्यते,“जो आपत्तिकालमें धर्मको धारण करता है, वही धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ है। धर्मपालनमें संकट उपस्थित होना ही धर्मात्मा पुरुषोंके लिये आपत्ति कही जाती है
āpatsu yo dhārayati dharmaṃ dharmavid uttamaḥ | vyasanaṃ hi eva dharmasya dharmiṇām āpad ucyate ||
He who upholds dharma when calamity strikes is the foremost among those who truly know dharma. For the righteous, the very ‘misfortune’ is this: that the practice of dharma itself becomes beset with hardship and obstruction.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True excellence in dharma is tested in crisis: the best knower of dharma is the one who continues to uphold righteous conduct when circumstances make it difficult.
Vaiśaṃpāyana states a general ethical principle within the ongoing discourse: for the righteous, ‘real adversity’ is when the observance of dharma itself becomes hard to sustain due to external pressures.