Shloka 88
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 71 — Kṣatra-dharma Counsel, Public Legitimacy, and Mobilization
न जातु गमनं पार्थ भवेत् तत्र निरर्थकम् । अर्थप्राप्ति: कदाचित् स्यादन्ततो वाप्यवाच्यता
na jātu gamanaṁ pārtha bhavet tatra nirarthakam | arthaprāptiḥ kadācit syād antato vāpy avācyatā | ataḥ kuntīnandana mama tatra yānaṁ kadāpi nirarthakaṁ na bhaviṣyati | sambhavaḥ, tatra mamābhīṣṭārthasya siddhir bhavet; yadi kāryaṁ na sidhyet, tathāpi vayaṁ nindāto rakṣiṣyāmaḥ |
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “O Pārtha, ang pagpunta ko roon ay hindi kailanman magiging walang saysay. Maaaring makamtan ang ninanais na layon; at kung hindi man magtagumpay, sa pinakahuli’y malalayo tayo sa panunumbat. Kaya, o anak ni Kuntī, ang paglalakbay kong iyon ay hindi maaaring mauwi sa wala.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should undertake a righteous effort even when success is uncertain: it may achieve the goal, and even if it fails, the doer remains ethically blameless for having tried the proper course.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Arjuna, insisting that a proposed journey/mission is not futile: it could secure their intended outcome, and failing that, it still protects them from public and moral reproach for neglecting due effort.