Encyclopaedia of Sanskrit subhāṣitas 24

24

akartavyaṃ na kartavyaṃ prāṇaiḥ kaṇṭhagatairapi /
kartavyameva kartavyaṃ prāṇaiḥ kaṇṭhagatairapi //

What ought not to be done must not be done, even when the breath of life has reached the throat; / only what ought to be done must be done, even when the breath of life has reached the throat.