Shloka 25
आपदगतेन धर्माणामन्यायेनोपजीवनम् । अपि होतद् ब्राह्माणेषु दृष्ट॑ वृत्तिपरिक्षये,जो आपत्तिमें पड़ा हो वह धर्मके विपरीत आचरणद्वारा जीवन-निर्वाह कर सकता है। जीविका क्षीण होनेपर ब्राह्मणोंमें ऐसा व्यवहार देखा गया है
āpadgatena dharmāṇām anyāyenopajīvanam | api hotad brāhmaṇeṣu dṛṣṭaṁ vṛttiparikṣaye ||
Bhīṣma said: “When a person has fallen into calamity, sustaining life even by means that run contrary to ordinary standards of dharma is permitted. Indeed, when livelihood has withered away, such emergency conduct has been observed even among brāhmaṇas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme distress (āpaddharma), preserving life can justify actions that would normally be considered contrary to dharma; ethical rules are applied with context, and emergency exceptions are acknowledged even for those held to high standards such as brāhmaṇas.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, explains to the listener that during times of calamity the strict norms of conduct may be relaxed, citing observed precedent among brāhmaṇas when their usual means of livelihood are exhausted.