Shloka 31
अहिंसयित्वा ब्रह्महत्याविधानम् / Brahmahatyā incurred without physical violence
नाग्निं परित्यजेज्जातु न च वेदान् परित्यजेत् । नच ब्राह्मणमाक्रोशेत् सम॑ तद् ब्रह्महत्यया
nāgniṃ parityajej jātu na ca vedān parityajet | na ca brāhmaṇam ākrośet samaṃ tad brahmahatyayā ||
Bhishma sprach: „Man soll niemals das heilige Feuer verlassen, noch das Studium und die Rezitation der Veden aufgeben, und man soll keinen Brāhmaṇa schmähen. Diese drei Vergehen werden als so schwer wie brahmahatyā erklärt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Maintain the three pillars that sustain dharma: (1) continuity of sacred fire/Agnihotra (ritual duty), (2) ongoing Vedic study (svādhyāya and preservation of sacred knowledge), and (3) restraint and reverence toward brāhmaṇas (respect for spiritual authority). Neglecting any of these is treated as a sin of the highest order, comparable to brahmahatyā.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma—lying on the bed of arrows—delivers systematic instruction on dharma to Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he lists prohibitions and ranks their gravity, warning that abandoning the sacred fire, abandoning Vedic study, or abusing a brāhmaṇa are offenses as severe as brahmahatyā.