Shloka 35
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
सर्वेषां त्वं प्राणिनामन्तकाले कामक्रोधौ सहितौ योजयेथा: । एवं धर्मस्त्वामुपैष्यत्यमेयो न चाधर्म लप्स्यसे तुल्यवृत्ति:
sarveṣāṁ tvaṁ prāṇinām antakāle kāmakrodhau sahitau yojayethāḥ | evaṁ dharmas tvām upaiṣyaty ameyo na cādharmam lapsyase tulyavṛttiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “At the final moment of all living beings, you should appoint desire (kāma) and anger (krodha) together as instruments of dissolution. In this way immeasurable Dharma will come to you, and you will not incur sin—because your mental disposition remains even, free from attachment and aversion.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that one who remains tulyavṛtti—mentally even and free from rāga-dveṣa—does not incur sin. Even when dealing with powerful forces like desire and anger, if they are ‘assigned’ without personal attachment (as part of the cosmic function at life’s end), Dharma accrues rather than adharma.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha) instructs the listener on subtle points of dharma and inner discipline. Here he frames kāma and krodha as forces that can be directed at the time of dissolution, emphasizing that the ethical key is the agent’s equanimity and freedom from partiality.