Shloka 83
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
कर्म चात्महितं कार्य तीक्ष्णं वा यदि वा मृदु । ग्रस्यते5कर्मशीलस्तु सदानर्थरकिज्चन:
brahmadatta uvāca | karma cātmahitaṃ kāryaṃ tīkṣṇaṃ vā yadi vā mṛdu | grasyate 'karmāśīlas tu sadānartharakiñcanaḥ ||
梵摩达多说道：应当不断从事对自身有益的事业——或须刚毅锐决，或须温和柔顺，皆可。然不勤于业、弃置行动之人，必为祸患所吞，终至贫乏困顿，屡屡沦为恶果的牺牲。
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
Consistent, welfare-oriented action is essential: one should do what is beneficial, adapting one’s method to be firm or gentle as needed. Abandoning work and discipline leads to poverty and repeated misfortune.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Brahmadatta delivers a moral instruction emphasizing sustained effort and purposeful action, warning that habitual inaction makes a person vulnerable to continual adversity.