Shloka 18
Droṇācārya’s Assessment of the Pāṇḍavas: Nīti, Kāla, and Intelligence (विराटपर्व, अध्याय २६)
अथवा विषमं प्राप्प विनष्टा: शाश्वती: समा: । तस्मान्मानसमपव्यग्रं कृत्वा त्वं कुरुनन्दन । कुरु कार्य महोत्साहं मन्यसे यन्नराधिप
athavā viṣamaṃ prāpya vinaṣṭāḥ śāśvatīḥ samāḥ | tasmān mānasam apavyagraṃ kṛtvā tvaṃ kurunandana | kuru kāryaṃ mahotsāhaṃ manyase yan narādhipa ||
「あるいは、恐るべき災厄に陥り、長き歳月のうちに永く滅び去ってしまったのかもしれぬ。ゆえに、クル族の喜びよ、人の王よ、心を鎮め、大いなる決意をもって、汝が正しいと判断する方策を遂行せよ。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
In uncertainty and fear—when outcomes are unknown and loved ones may be lost—the counsel is to regain mental steadiness (apavyagra-manas) and then act with determined energy on what one judges to be right (kārya), rather than being paralyzed by anxiety.
Vaiśampāyana reports advice given to a Kuru prince/king: since those being sought may have met disaster long ago, the ruler should not remain mentally unsettled but should compose himself and decisively undertake the appropriate course of action.