2025 · GS Paper 4 · Q3(a) · 10 marks
What do each of these quotations convey to you in the present context? "Those who in trouble untroubled are, Will trouble trouble itself." – Thiruvalluvar
In short
Thiruvalluvar's couplet teaches that a mind which meets hardship with equanimity robs trouble of its power and defeats it. ISRO turning the Chandrayaan-2 failure of 2019 into Chandrayaan-3's landing in 2023 shows trouble troubled in practice.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 283 words
Mind before matter
Trouble draws its power from the fear it creates, so one who meets it calmly denies it that power and turns it back on itself.
Equanimity as strength
The Gita's sthitaprajna is "untroubled in sorrow" (2.56), and this calm is self-regulation, which Goleman places at the core of emotional intelligence, not passivity.
Youth under pressure
NCRB recorded 13,044 student suicides in 2022, and the Supreme Court's Sukdeb Saha (2025) guidelines on student mental health show why resilience must be taught early.
Crisis administration
Odisha's evacuation of over a million people before Cyclone Fani (2019) and Bhilwara's early COVID-19 containment in 2020 show calm, early planning shrinking a disaster.
Failure as a teacher
ISRO absorbed the Chandrayaan-2 landing failure of 2019 and landed Chandrayaan-3 near the lunar south pole in 2023.
Leadership under fire
When SLV-3 failed in 1979, Satish Dhawan took the blame himself, an act of moral courage that steadied Kalam's team and let it succeed in 1980.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2025 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.