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 |
اے پارتھ! میرا وہاں جانا کبھی بے فائدہ نہ ہوگا۔ ممکن ہے کہ مطلوبہ مقصد حاصل ہو جائے؛ اور اگر کام نہ بھی بنے تو بھی کم از کم ہم ملامت سے تو بچ رہیں گے۔
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.