Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 137 — Bhīṣma–Droṇa Counsel and the Ethics of Restraint
नकुलं सहदेवं च बलवीर्यसमन्वितौ | सहायं वासुदेवं च न क्षंस्पति युधिष्ठिर:
nakulaṃ sahadevaṃ ca balavīryasamanvitau | sahāyaṃ vāsudevaṃ ca na kṣaṃsyati yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Yudhiṣṭhira não perdoará tuas antigas ofensas, agora que tem Nakula e Sahadeva—dotados de força e valor—e o próprio Vāsudeva (Krishna) como aliado.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
When wrongdoing persists and reconciliation is repeatedly violated, forgiveness (kṣamā) may yield to the demands of justice and dharma—especially when righteous support and strength are firmly in place.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Pāṇḍavas’ strengthened position: with Nakula and Sahadeva ready and Kṛṣṇa as an ally, Yudhiṣṭhira is portrayed as no longer inclined to pardon the opponent’s earlier transgressions, signaling an irreversible move toward conflict.