Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 226
Ahiṃsā as Threefold Restraint (Mind–Speech–Action) and the Ethics of Consumption
एतैश्व सह धर्मोडपि तं जीवमनुगच्छति । दिन और रात भी इस जगतके सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके कर्मोंके साक्षी हैं। इन सबके साथ धर्म भी जीवका अनुसरण करता है
etaiś ca saha dharmo 'pi taṃ jīvam anugacchati | dinaṃ ca rātriṃ ca jagataḥ samasta-prāṇināṃ karmāṇāṃ sākṣiṇī bhavataḥ | ebhiḥ sarvaiḥ saha dharmo 'pi jīvasya anugamanaṃ karoti |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Along with these, Dharma too follows the living being. Day and night stand as witnesses to the deeds of all creatures in this world. In the company of all these witnesses, Dharma continues to accompany the soul—so that no action is ever truly without testimony or consequence.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
No deed is truly hidden: day and night are constant witnesses, and Dharma itself accompanies the living being. Therefore one should act with moral awareness, knowing that actions carry ethical consequence.
Yudhiṣṭhira is articulating a moral principle within the Anuśāsana-parvan’s instruction on righteous conduct: the world itself (through time—day and night) bears witness to actions, and Dharma follows the jīva, ensuring accountability.