Shloka 4
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
अधर्मतां याति धर्मों यात्यधर्मश्न धर्मताम् वधो नाम भवेद् धर्मो नैतद् भवितुमहति
bhīṣma uvāca | adharmatāṃ yāti dharmo yāty adharmo dharmatām | vadho nāma bhaved dharmo naitad bhavitum arhati |
Bhishma sprach: „Mitunter gleitet das, was man ‘Dharma’ nennt, in Unrecht ab, und das, was man ‘Adharma’ nennt, wird als rechtmäßig angesehen. Dennoch ist es nicht hinnehmbar, das Töten eines lebenden Wesens ‘Dharma’ zu nennen — das kann in Wahrheit nicht sein.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that moral labels can shift—acts may appear righteous yet be unrighteous, and vice versa—but he draws a firm ethical boundary: the killing of a living being should not be justified as ‘dharma’ merely by naming it so.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma reflects on the instability of moral appearances and argues against legitimizing violence as righteousness, framing a cautionary principle within broader teachings on dharma.