Shloka 215
सभा-पर्यवसान-प्रस्थानवचनम् | Counsel at the Point of Departure
बलवांश्व यथा धर्म लोके पश्यति पूरुष: । स धर्मों धर्मवेलायां भवत्यभिहत: पर:
balavāṁś ca yathā dharmaṁ loke paśyati pūruṣaḥ | sa dharmo dharmavelāyāṁ bhavaty abhihataḥ paraiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Just as a powerful man views ‘dharma’ in this world, so that very dharma, when the decisive moment for righteousness arrives, is struck down and overpowered by others.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma, when interpreted or controlled by the powerful, can be distorted; and at the very moment when righteousness must stand firm, it may be crushed by opposing forces. The verse warns that moral order is vulnerable when power dominates ethical judgment.
Bhīṣma reflects on the fragility of dharma in a world governed by strength and political pressure, implying that in critical situations the rightful course is often defeated by the actions and influence of others.