Shloka 9
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
धर्मस्याख्या महाराज व्यवहार इतीष्यते । तस्य लोप: कथ॑ं न स्याल्लोकेष्ववहितात्मन:
dharmasyākhyā mahārāja vyavahāra itīṣyate | tasya lopaḥ kathaṃ na syāl lokeṣv avahitātmanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, the very definition of dharma is said to be proper conduct in practical life (vyavahāra). If so, how could that dharma not decline among people whose minds are not attentive and disciplined?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not merely theory but is recognized through lived, practical conduct (vyavahāra). When people are mentally inattentive and undisciplined, the everyday practices that sustain dharma naturally erode, leading to its decline in society.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on the nature of dharma. Here he emphasizes that dharma is identified with real-world conduct and warns that without attentiveness of mind, social and ethical order cannot be maintained.