Shloka 783
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
धर्माधर्मो गृहीत्वेह सर्वे वर्तामहे5ध्वनि । मैं, यह सियार और तुम सब लोग जो इसके भाई बन्धु हो--ये सभी धर्म और अधर्मको लेकर यहाँ अपनी-अपनी राहपर चल रहे हैं
dharmādharmau gṛhītvaiha sarve vartāmahe ’dhvani |
Jambuka said: “Here, all of us proceed along our respective paths, bearing with us both dharma and adharma. I—the jackal—and all of you who are his kinsmen and companions, each move on in this world carrying the burden and consequence of right and wrong.”
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral responsibility: every being moves through life carrying the consequences of both dharma (right action) and adharma (wrong action). One’s ‘path’ is shaped by what one chooses to uphold or violate.
Jambuka (a jackal) speaks reflectively, addressing others as fellow travelers in the world. He frames their shared condition as moving along life’s road while bearing the mixed realities of virtue and vice.