Shloka 2
तत्र न व्यवधातव्यं परोक्षा धर्मयापना । अधर्मो धर्म इत्येतद् यथा वृकपदं तथा,धर्म और अधर्मकी समस्या रखकर किसीके कर्तव्यमें व्यवधान नहीं डालना चाहिये; क्योंकि धर्मका फल प्रत्यक्ष नहीं है। जैसे भेड़ियेका पदचिह्न देखकर किसीको यह निश्चय नहीं होता कि यह व्याप्रका पदचिह्न है या कुत्तेका? उसी प्रकार धर्म और अधर्मके विषयमें निर्णय करना कठिन है
tatra na vyavadhātavyaṃ parokṣā dharmayāpanā | adharmo dharma ity etad yathā vṛkapadaṃ tathā ||
Bhīṣma said: “In such matters one should not obstruct another person’s performance of duty, for the working of dharma is not directly visible. To decide ‘this is dharma’ or ‘this is adharma’ is difficult—like the track of a wolf, which can be mistaken for that of a tiger or a dog.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma’s results and true nature are often indirect and hard to verify; therefore one should be cautious in declaring something dharma/adharma and should not lightly obstruct another’s rightful performance of duty based on uncertain moral judgments.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on the subtlety of dharma. He uses the analogy of a wolf’s footprint—easily confused with other animals’ tracks—to illustrate how difficult it can be to judge moral right and wrong with certainty.