Shloka 30
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
इममन्यं च ते काम॑ ददानि मनसेप्सितम् । न त्वां दोषेण यास्यन्ति व्याधिसम्पीडिता: प्रजा:
imam anyaṁ ca te kāmaṁ dadāni manasepsitam | na tvāṁ doṣeṇa yāsyanti vyādhi-sampīḍitāḥ prajāḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ich gewähre dir noch einen weiteren Segen, nach dem dein Herz verlangt: Die Menschen werden dir, selbst wenn sie von Krankheit bedrängt und gequält sind, keine Schuld zuschreiben. Du wirst die Gestalt annehmen können, die jeder Lage entspricht—männlich unter Männern, weiblich unter Frauen und neutral unter den Neutralen—damit du ohne Tadel lebst und keine Unordnung in die Gemeinschaft trägst.“
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler or protected person should not become a target of public blame for unavoidable suffering (like disease), and dharma sometimes requires adaptive conduct—assuming an appropriate social role—to preserve harmony and prevent needless conflict.
Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) grants an additional boon: even if the populace is distressed by illness, they will not accuse the recipient of wrongdoing; further, the recipient is empowered to take on the fitting form/role among men, women, or neuters, enabling life without social reproach.