Shloka 18

Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)

Devanagari script

सर्वात्मनैव धर्मस्य न परस्य न चात्मन: । सर्वोपायैरुज्जिहीर्षेदात्मानमिति निश्चय:,संकटकालमें मनुष्य अपने या दूसरेके धर्मकी ओर न देखे; अपितु सम्पूर्ण हृदयसे सभी उपायोंद्वारा अपने आपके ही उद्धारकी अभिलाषा करे, यही सबका निश्चय है

Transliteration

sarvātmanāiva dharmasya na parasya na cātmanaḥ | sarvopāyair ujjihīrṣed ātmānam iti niścayaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “In a time of crisis, one should not fix one’s gaze on the duties of another, nor even cling to one’s own customary duty as such. With one’s whole being, employing every available means, one should seek to rescue oneself—this is the settled conclusion.”

Word by Word

सर्वात्मनाwith the whole self; wholeheartedly

एवindeed; only

धर्मस्यof dharma; of duty/righteousness

नnot

परस्यof another (person)

नnor/not

चand

आत्मनःof oneself

सर्वोपायैःby all means/remedies

उज्जिहीर्षेत्should strive to rescue/raise up

आत्मानम्oneself

इतिthus (quotative)

निश्चयःdecision; settled conclusion

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In extreme distress, the priority becomes safeguarding life and stability: one should act wholeheartedly and use every practical means for self-rescue, rather than rigidly clinging to formal notions of ‘my duty’ or ‘another’s duty’.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma advises on dharma and right conduct. Here he addresses conduct in emergencies, emphasizing pragmatic self-protection as a broadly accepted conclusion.