Shloka 7
स्प्रष्टमप्पसमर्थो हि ज्वलन्तमिव पावकम् । अधर्म: संततो धर्म कालेन परिरक्षितम्
spraṣṭum apy asamartho hi jvalantam iva pāvakam | adharmaḥ santato dharmaṃ kālena parirakṣitam ||
Bhishma said: Even to touch it, adharma is powerless—like trying to touch a blazing fire. For dharma, ever-established and guarded on all sides by Time (kāla), cannot be reached or harmed by unrighteousness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma, when firmly established, has an inherent radiance and protection; adharma lacks the power to overcome it. The verse emphasizes confidence in moral order: unrighteousness cannot ultimately prevail against righteousness safeguarded by kāla (Time).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he uses the simile of blazing fire to convey that adharma cannot even approach true dharma, because dharma is continuously upheld and protected by Time.