Shloka 29
Karna Reproves Shalya; Brahmin Reports on Bāhlīkas; Shalya’s Universalizing Rebuttal (कर्ण–शल्य संवादः)
अतिकान्तं हि यत् कार्य पश्चाच्चिन्तयते नर: । तच्चास्य न भवेत् कार्य चिन्तया च विनश्यति,संजयने कहा--राजन्! पूर्वकालमें आपने जो चद्यूतक्रीडा आदि धर्मसंगत कारण उपस्थित किये थे, उन्हें याद तो कीजिये। जो मनुष्य बीती हुई बातके लिये पीछे चिन्ता करता है, उसका वह कार्य तो सिद्ध होता नहीं, केवल चिन्ता करनेसे वह स्वयं नष्ट हो जाता है
atikāntaṁ hi yat kāryaṁ paścāc cintayate naraḥ | taccāsya na bhavet kāryaṁ cintayā ca vinaśyati ||
ผู้ใดครุ่นคิดภายหลังถึงการที่ล่วงเลยเกินแก้ ย่อมไม่อาจทำให้การนั้นสำเร็จอีกหรือย้อนเปลี่ยนได้; ความกังวลนั้นกลับทำลายผู้นั้นเอง.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Regretful brooding over an irreversible past action is fruitless: it cannot change the deed, and it harms the person who indulges in it. The ethical thrust is to accept consequences, learn, and act rightly in the present rather than be consumed by anxiety.
Sañjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), urging him to recall the earlier rationalizations he had offered (such as appeals to ‘dharma’ in matters like the dice-game) and to stop tormenting himself with after-the-fact worry, since it cannot alter what has already unfolded.