अथवा मद्विनाशो<यं न हि शक्ष्यामि कंचन । परित्यक्तुमहं बन्धुं स्वयं जीवन् नृशंसवत्,अथवा यह मेरे ही विनाशका समय है; क्योंकि मैं स्वयं जीवित रहकर क्रूर मनुष्यकी भाँति दूसरे किसी भाई-बंधुका त्याग नहीं कर सकूँगा
athavā madvināśo 'yaṃ na hi śakṣyāmi kañcana | parityaktum ahaṃ bandhuṃ svayaṃ jīvan nṛśaṃsavat ||
Ou então, esta deve ser a hora da minha própria destruição; pois não consigo levar-me a abandonar parente algum. Enquanto eu viver, não rejeitarei um familiar como um homem impiedoso.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
The speaker frames abandoning one’s kin as an act of nṛśaṃsatā (pitiless cruelty). Even at personal cost, he upholds a dharmic ethic of loyalty and compassion toward family bonds.
A brāhmaṇa speaker confronts a crisis where he might be compelled to forsake a relative. He rejects that option outright, declaring that if such abandonment is required, it would be better for him to perish than to live as a cruel man.