Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
तात मन्युर्न ते कार्यो नात्मा शोच्यस्त्वया तथा । नून॑ पूर्वकृतं कर्म सुघोरमनुभूयते
tāta manyur na te kāryo nātmā śocyas tvayā tathā | nūnaṁ pūrvakṛtaṁ karma sughoram anubhūyate ||
三阇耶说道:“孩子啊,你不当起嗔怒与忧悲;亦不当为自身而哀泣。须知如今所受,正是往昔所作之业的果报——其后果惨烈而可怖。”
संजय उवाच
One should restrain anger and self-pity, recognizing that present suffering is the maturation of prior actions (karma). The verse frames endurance and composure as ethically appropriate responses amid calamity.
In the Shalya Parva war context, Sanjaya addresses someone younger as “tāta,” counseling them not to succumb to rage or grief and interpreting the harsh events being faced as the inevitable consequence of earlier deeds.