Shloka 5
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
यथा सर्वश्षतुष्पाद वै त्रिभि: पादैर्न तिष्ठति । तथैवेयं महीपाल कारणै: प्रोच्यते त्रिभि:
yathā sarvaś catuṣpād vai tribhiḥ pādair na tiṣṭhati | tathaiveyaṃ mahīpāla kāraṇaiḥ procyate tribhiḥ ||
قال بهيشما: «يا أيها الملك! كما أن المخلوقَ ذا الأربع قوائم لا يثبت ثباتًا على ثلاثٍ منها، كذلك فإن اللاعنفَ الذي يُحافَظ عليه أو يُفسَّر اعتمادًا على ثلاثة أسباب فحسب لا يُسمّى لاعنفًا كاملًا.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is not truly complete if it is upheld or justified by only a partial set of reasons or supports; like a four-footed animal needing all four legs to stand, non-violence must rest on a full foundation to be called genuine.
Bhishma is instructing the king (Yudhishthira) in ethical and dharmic principles. He uses a simple analogy—an animal cannot stand on three legs—to emphasize that a moral principle like ahiṃsā cannot be considered fully established when supported by only three factors.