Shloka 19
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
एवं वै परम धर्म प्रशंसन्ति मनीषिण: । प्राणा यथा55त्मनो5भीष्टा भूतानामपि वै तथा
evaṁ vai parama-dharmaṁ praśaṁsanti manīṣiṇaḥ | prāṇā yathā ātmano ’bhīṣṭā bhūtānām api vai tathā ||
ভীষ্ম ক’লে—এইদৰে মনীষীসকলে অহিংসাৰূপ পৰম ধৰ্মৰ প্ৰশংসা কৰে। যেনেকৈ নিজৰ প্ৰাণ নিজৰ বাবে প্ৰিয়, তেনেকৈ সকলো ভূত-প্ৰাণীৰ বাবেও তেওঁলোকৰ নিজৰ নিজৰ প্ৰাণ প্ৰিয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahimsa (non-violence) is praised as the supreme dharma because every being values its own life as dearly as we value ours; ethical conduct begins with recognizing this shared attachment to life.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising on righteous conduct, grounding the ideal of non-harm in a universal psychological fact: all creatures cherish their own prāṇa (life).