Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
अनिर्वेद: सदा कार्यों निर्वेदाद्धि कुतः सुखम् । प्रयत्नात् प्राप्यते हार्थ: कस्माद् गच्छथ निर्दयम्
jambuka uvāca | anirvedaḥ sadā kāryo nirvedād dhi kutaḥ sukham | prayatnāt prāpyate hy arthaḥ kasmād gacchatha nirdayam ||
Jambuka disse: “Deve-se sempre cultivar a perseverança e a ausência de desânimo; pois como poderia a felicidade nascer do abatimento? Os fins desejados só se alcançam pelo esforço. Então por que estais partindo—cruelmente—abandonando a tentativa de proteger esta criança?”
जम्बुक उवाच
Do not give mental space to dejection; happiness and success arise from sustained effort. Ethically, one must not abandon compassionate duty—especially the protection of a vulnerable child—out of fatigue or discouragement.
Jambuka rebukes a group who are withdrawing from the effort to safeguard a child. He urges them to persist, arguing that goals are achieved only through exertion and that leaving the child unprotected is an act of cruelty.