Shloka 23
स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation
आत्मना55त्मानमाश्चवास्य मा शुच: पुरुषर्षभ । नाद्य शोकाभि भूतस्त्वं कार्यमुत्स्रष्टमहसि,'पुरुषप्रवर! आप स्वयं ही अपने मनको आश्वासन देकर शोकको त्याग दीजिये। आज शोकसे व्याकुल होकर आपको अपने कर्तव्य कर्मका त्याग नहीं करना चाहिये”
ātmanaivātmānam āśvāsya mā śucaḥ puruṣarṣabha | nādya śokābhibhūtas tvaṃ kāryam utsraṣṭum arhasi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O bull among men, steady your own heart by your own resolve—do not grieve. Overcome by sorrow today, you must not abandon the duty that is to be done.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Grief must not be allowed to eclipse dharma: one should gather inner composure and continue the necessary duties rather than renouncing action out of sorrow.
In the aftermath of the war’s devastation, the narrator frames a counsel addressed to a leading man: he is urged to console himself, restrain lamentation, and not abandon the obligations that the moment demands.