Shloka 7
Prahlāda–Indra Saṃvāda: Kartṛtva (Agency) and Svabhāva (Nature) in the Causation of Karma
यश्चैनं परमं धर्म सर्वभूतसुखावहम् । दुःखान्नि:सरणं वेद सर्वज्ञ: स सुखी भवेत्,जो मनुष्य इस अहिंसा आदि परम धर्मको समस्त प्राणियोंके लिये सुखद और दुःखनिवारक जानता है, वही सर्वज्ञ है और वही सुखी होता है
bhīṣma uvāca | yaś cainaṃ paramaṃ dharmaṃ sarvabhūtasukhāvaham | duḥkhān niḥsaraṇaṃ veda sarvajñaḥ sa sukhī bhavet ||
Bhishma said: He who understands this as the highest dharma—bringing happiness to all beings and providing a way out of suffering—such a person is truly all-knowing in the moral sense, and he alone becomes happy.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest dharma is that which promotes the happiness of all beings and serves as a means to transcend suffering; true knowledge is measured by ethical insight and compassion, and such understanding leads to genuine happiness.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes a universal, non-harming-oriented standard of righteousness: the best dharma is recognized by its benefit to all creatures and its power to free one from suffering.