Shloka 20
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
ये तु धर्म प्रशंसन्तश्नरन्ति पृथिवीमिमाम् | अनाचरन्तस्तद् धर्म संकरेडभिरता: प्रभो
bhīṣma uvāca | ye tu dharmaṁ praśaṁsantaś caranti pṛthivīm imām | anācarantas tad dharmaṁ saṅkareḍbhir atāḥ prabho ||
Bhishma sprach: „O Herr, wer über diese Erde umherzieht und den Dharma preist, ihn aber selbst nicht übt, ist ein Heuchler; er ist darauf versessen, im Namen der Rechtschaffenheit Verwirrung und Verderbnis zu stiften.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True dharma is validated by conduct, not by public praise. Those who advertise righteousness while refusing to live by it are condemned as hypocrites who damage moral order.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he warns the listener that mere preaching or reputation is insufficient; he criticizes people who wander about lauding dharma while undermining it through their own behavior.