Shloka 10

अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः

Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning

Devanagari script

एतदेवमवश्यं हि भविता नैतदन्यथा । क्रियतामनवद्याड्रि यथोक्त मद्गबब्योडउनघे

Transliteration

etad evam avaśyaṃ hi bhavitā naitad anyathā | kriyatām anavadyāṅgi yathoktaṃ madgabhabyōḍunaghe ||

Translation

„So wird es unweigerlich geschehen, genau auf diese Weise; anders kann es nicht sein. O Göttin mit makellosen Gliedern, handle, wie ich es dir geboten habe. Wenn du meinem Wort folgst, wird dich keine Sünde treffen.“

Word by Word

• एतत्: this (matter)
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• एवम्: thus, in this way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• अवश्यम्: certainly, inevitably
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अवश्यम्

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• भविता: will be / will happen
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Periphrastic Future (लुट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• एतत्: this (matter)
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा

• क्रियताम्: let it be done; do (it)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada, injunctive/passive-style command

• अनवद्ये: O blameless one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनवद्य
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• यथा: as, according to
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• उक्तम्: said, spoken
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Past Passive Participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• मत्: from me / of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Ablative/Genitive, Singular, 1st

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• पितामह (Bhīṣma)
• anavadyāṅgī/anaghe (addressed lady/devi; unnamed in the given text)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes inevitability (avaśyam) and the ethical reassurance that obedience to a rightful instruction—framed as dharmic—does not generate sin. It links moral responsibility to acting according to proper guidance when outcomes are presented as unavoidable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) addresses a woman respectfully as “sinless” and “faultless-limbed,” asserting that a certain outcome is fixed and cannot change, and urges her to carry out his stated instruction, assuring her that doing so will not incur pāpa (sin).