Mahabharata 26: Right Time For Right Thing

The soft oft are demeaned by the sharp, The sharp upset like an off-pitch harp; Right time there's for right thing, He that knows either thing, Know thou him spot on as the right king. _________________________________________________________ Here is the transliteration of the original verse: And in case this long discourse might not still convince the king, Draupadi presented this verse as a warning— all of which in the mouth of a third person— one of the most revered daityas, mŗduh bhavati avajňātahtīkśhņāt udvijate janah | kāle prāpte dvayam cha etatyah veda sah mahī-patih || vana 28-36 Accordingly, there is time to be soft, and there is time to be harsh. He that knows when to be what, he is truly called king. In the epic of hundred thousand verses, this discussion on annoyance and tolerance, soft approach versus harsh ran into 36 verses. This long discussion was aimed at Yudhishthir and his soft approach. He still would have none of it. He gave an elaborate reason, in the span of fifty beautiful verses in Chapter 29, why anger and rage are not good; why forgiveness and forbearance are better. This is also ancient philosophy but let us proceed further.