Shloka 22
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
ते पश्यत सुतस्नेहो यादृश: पशुपक्षिणाम् | न तेषां धारयित्वा तान् कश्चिदस्ति फलागम:
te paśyata sutasneho yādṛśaḥ paśupakṣiṇām | na teṣāṃ dhārayitvā tān kaścid asti phalāgamaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Observe what kind of affection for their young exists even among beasts and birds. Yet, for those creatures, merely sustaining and rearing their offspring does not bring any assured fruit (spiritual recompense).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Natural love for one’s children is universal—even animals have it—but mere attachment-driven caretaking is not automatically a spiritually meritorious act. Dharmic ‘fruit’ is associated with conscious, value-guided action and inner discipline rather than instinct alone.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma illustrates a moral distinction: instinctive parental affection (seen in beasts and birds) versus deliberate, dharma-oriented practice that is said to yield higher results.