Shloka 35
त्रिवर्गविचारः
Tri-varga Deliberation: Dharma, Artha, Kāma
एको<स्य सुमहाप्राज्ञ दोष: स्यात् सुमहान् गुण: । क्षमया विपुला लोका: सुलभा हि सहिष्णुता
eko 'sya sumahāprājña doṣaḥ syāt sumahān guṇaḥ | kṣamayā vipulā lokāḥ sulabhā hi sahiṣṇutā, mahāprājña yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Yudhiṣṭhira, supremamente sábio! Aquilo que nele parece ser uma única grande falta pode, por si mesmo, tornar-se uma grande virtude. Ao cultivar o perdão (kṣamā), tornam-se facilmente alcançáveis vastos mundos de mérito; e, pelo perdão, a tolerância e a capacidade de suportar surgem naturalmente.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Forgiveness (kṣamā) is not weakness but a transformative virtue: even what seems like a major flaw can become a great merit, because forgiveness opens the way to higher moral attainment and naturally generates endurance (sahiṣṇutā).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhīṣma counsels Yudhiṣṭhira, praising forgiveness as a kingly and spiritual quality that yields great merit and cultivates patient tolerance.