Shloka 32
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
अधर्मरूपो धर्मो हि कश्चिदस्ति नराधिप । धर्मश्चाधर्मरूपो5स्ति तच्च ज्ञेयं विपक्षिता
adharmarūpo dharmo hi kaścid asti narādhipa | dharmaś cādharmarūpo 'sti tac ca jñeyaṃ vipakṣitā ||
Vyāsa sprach: „O König, es gibt Lagen, in denen das, was man ‘Dharma’ nennt, die Gestalt von Adharma annimmt; und ebenso gibt es Fälle, in denen das, was wie Adharma erscheint, in Wahrheit Dharma ist. Darum, o Herrscher der Menschen, muss man dies sorgfältig unterscheiden—Dharma und Adharma in ihrem wahren, vom Kontext bestimmten Gegensatz erkennen.“
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is subtle and context-dependent: actions labeled ‘dharma’ can become harmful or unrighteous in certain circumstances, while actions that look unrighteous may be justified as dharma. Therefore one must judge with careful discernment rather than by rigid labels.
Vyāsa is instructing a king in the Śānti Parva’s ethical discourse, emphasizing that the ruler must understand the nuanced boundary between dharma and adharma when making decisions that affect society.