Shloka 59
Pāṇḍava-senā-niryāṇa and Vyūha-vibhāga (पाण्डवसेनानिर्याण तथा व्यूहविभाग)
जघन्यकालमप्येतन्न भवेत् सर्वपार्थिवान् | निर्दहेयमहं क्रोधात् तृणानीव हुताशन:
jaghanyakālam apy etan na bhavet sarvapārthivān | nirdaheyam ahaṃ krodhāt tṛṇānīva hutāśanaḥ ||
“Kahit ang sandaling ito’y hindi pa ang pinakamasamang panahon para sa lahat ng mga hari: kung sakaling lamunin ako ng poot, masusunog ko sila na parang tuyong damo sa apoy.”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Immense power must be governed by restraint: anger can destroy entire polities, so dharma requires self-control and a preference for peace over wrathful retaliation.
In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war negotiations, Krishna speaks forcefully, warning that if provoked to anger he could annihilate the assembled rulers like fire consumes grass—highlighting both the peril of escalation and his capacity to end the conflict by sheer force.