Shloka 18
Udyoga Parva Adhyāya 92: Kṛṣṇasya sabhāpraveśaḥ
Krishna’s Entry into the Royal Assembly
मम धर्मार्थियुक्तं हि श्रुत्वा वाक्यमनामयम् | न चेदादास्यते बालो दिष्टस्य वशमेष्यति
mama dharmārthayuktaṃ hi śrutvā vākyam anāmayam | na ced ādāsyate bālo diṣṭasya vaśam eṣyati ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Walaupun telah mendengar kata-kataku—yang baik, tidak memudaratkan, serta selaras dengan dharma dan maslahat duniawi—jika si kebudak-budakan (si bodoh) itu tidak menerimanya, maka dia pasti akan jatuh di bawah kekuasaan takdir.”
(वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wholesome counsel grounded in dharma and artha should be accepted; rejecting it out of immaturity leads one to be overpowered by adverse destiny—implying moral agency and accountability before fate takes over.
The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana comments that if the intended recipient of good advice (implicitly the obstinate prince in the surrounding context) refuses to accept salutary, dharma- and policy-aligned words, he will be driven into ruin under the sway of fate.