Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
वैरमन्तिकमासाद्य य:ः प्रीतिं कर्तुमिच्छति । मृन्मयस्येव भग्नस्य यथा संधिर्न विद्यते
vairam āntikam āsādya yaḥ prītiṃ kartum icchati | mṛṇmayasyeva bhagnasya yathā sandhir na vidyate ||
वैरमन्तिकमासाद्य यः प्रीतिं कर्तुमिच्छति । मृन्मयस्येव भग्नस्य यथा संधिर्न विद्यते ॥
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
If hostility is allowed to harden to the point of mortal, irreversible conflict, later attempts at affection or reconciliation are futile; some ruptures—like a shattered clay pot—cannot be made whole again.
In a didactic exchange within the Śānti Parva, Brahmadatta offers a moral observation using a concrete metaphor: once enmity has reached its terminal extreme, the possibility of restoring genuine friendship is effectively lost.