Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 41
“यत: कृष्णस्ततो धर्मो” यतो धर्मस्ततो जय: । वासुदेवेन तीर्थेन पुत्र संशाम्य पाण्डवै:
yataḥ kṛṣṇas tato dharmo yato dharmas tato jayaḥ | vāsudevena tīrthena putra saṁśāmya pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Where Kṛṣṇa stands, there stands Dharma; and where Dharma stands, there is victory.” Therefore, O son, take refuge in the sacred presence of Vāsudeva and let the Pāṇḍavas be pacified—let hostility be cooled and reconciliation pursued in accord with righteousness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a moral axiom: alignment with Kṛṣṇa—understood as the embodiment of righteous counsel and divine order—means alignment with Dharma, and Dharma inevitably yields true victory. It frames success not merely as military gain but as the outcome of ethical rightness.
Bhīṣma, instructing after the great war, emphasizes that the Pāṇḍavas’ triumph is grounded in Dharma because Kṛṣṇa stands with them. He urges the listener (“O son”) toward pacification—cooling conflict and acting through the sanctifying refuge of Vāsudeva’s guidance.