Shloka 19
Nakula’s Adaptive Counsel to Kṛṣṇa in the Kuru Assembly (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ७८)
कथं गोहरणे हाक्तो नैतच्छर्म तथा हितम् । याच्यमानो हि भीष्मेण संवत्सरगते5ध्वनि
kathaṃ goharaṇe hākto naitaccharma tathā hitam | yācyamāno hi bhīṣmeṇa saṃvatsaragato 'dhvani ||
Arjuna nói: “Sao hắn lại bị xúi giục trong chuyện cướp bò? Con đường ấy chẳng phải nơi nương tựa chân thật, cũng chẳng thật sự có lợi. Bởi ngay khi Bhīṣma còn đang khẩn cầu, hắn đã lên đường cho trọn một năm (lưu đày) rồi.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames cattle-raiding as ethically suspect and strategically unwholesome: it is neither ‘śarma’ (a true refuge/peace) nor ‘hita’ (real benefit). Even respected elders like Bhīṣma urging restraint cannot justify actions that undermine dharma and worsen conflict.
Arjuna comments on a disputed episode involving goharaṇa (cattle-raiding) and notes that Bhīṣma was entreating someone to desist or act differently, yet the person had already set out on a journey associated with a year-long course (understood in context as exile/long-term consequence), highlighting the futility of late counsel and the moral cost of the act.