Shloka 8
मांसभक्षण-दोषाः तथा अहिंसाया माहात्म्यम् | Faults of Meat-Consumption and the Supremacy of Ahiṃsā
न तत् परस्य संदध्यात् प्रतिकूलं यदात्मन: । एष संक्षेपतो धर्म: कामादन्य: प्रवर्तते
na tat parasya sandadhyāt pratikūlaṃ yad ātmanaḥ | eṣa saṃkṣepato dharmaḥ kāmād anyaḥ pravartate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “One should not do to another what one would find harmful or disagreeable for oneself. This, in brief, is the definition of dharma. Any conduct contrary to this arises from desire (kāma), not from righteousness.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma, in its simplest form, is empathetic restraint: do not impose on others what you would not accept for yourself. Actions that violate this principle are driven by kāma (self-centered desire) rather than righteousness.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a concise ethical criterion for right conduct, contrasting dharma with behavior motivated by desire.