Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa
क्षमया तिष्ठते राजन् क्षमया विनिवर्तते । राजन! क्रोध लोभसे उत्पन्न होता है, दूसरोंके दोष देखनेसे बढ़ता, क्षमा करनेसे थम जाता और क्षमासे ही निवृत्त हो जाता है
kṣamayā tiṣṭhate rājan kṣamayā vinivartate |
毗湿摩说道:“大王啊,忿怒以宽恕而得以制止,也以宽恕而被逼退。人若选择忍让,怒火便失其立足之地,复归寂静。”
भीष्म उवाच
Forgiveness (kṣamā) is presented as the practical antidote to anger: it prevents anger from taking hold and also causes it to subside once arisen. The ethical point is that restraint and forbearance preserve dharma and social harmony more effectively than retaliation.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes a ruler’s inner discipline: the king should master anger through forgiveness, since uncontrolled wrath undermines just governance and peace.