Shloka 31
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
अहिंस्नरस्य तपो$क्षय्यमहिंसत्रो यजते सदा । अहिंस्र: सर्वभूतानां यथा माता यथा पिता
ahiṁsā-narasya tapo 'kṣayyam ahiṁsā-tro yajate sadā | ahiṁsraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ yathā mātā yathā pitā ||
Bhīṣma said: For the person devoted to non-violence, austerity becomes inexhaustible. One established in non-violence continually gains the merit of sacrifice. The non-violent person stands toward all beings like a mother and like a father—protective and nurturing, free from harm.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Non-violence is presented as a supreme dharmic discipline: it makes one’s austerity inexhaustible and grants the ongoing merit comparable to performing sacrifices, because it protects and nurtures all beings like parents do.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he praises ahiṁsā as a foundational virtue, explaining its spiritual fruits and portraying the non-violent person as universally parental toward all creatures.