Shloka 12
Daṇḍa, Ahiṃsā, and Proportional Kingship: The Dyumatsena–Satyavān Dialogue (दण्ड-अहिंसा-विवेकः)
विद्य चैवं न वा विद्य शक््यं वा वेदितुं न वा । अणीयान् क्षुरधाराया गरीयानपि पर्वतात्,हम धर्मको जानते हों या न जानते हों, धर्मस्वरूप जाना जा सकता हो या नहीं; इतना तो हम समझते ही हैं कि धर्म छूरेकी धारसे भी सूक्ष्म और पर्वतसे भी अधिक विशाल एवं भारी है
vidyā caiva na vā vidyā śakyaṃ vā vedituṃ na vā | aṇīyān kṣuradhārāyā garīyān api parvatāt |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Whether I truly know dharma or do not know it; whether its real nature can be fully understood or not—this much I grasp for certain: dharma is subtler than the edge of a razor, and yet heavier and more vast than a mountain.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is extraordinarily difficult to grasp and practice: it demands razor-sharp discernment (since a small mistake can be disastrous) and it carries immense moral weight (since it sustains society and the self). The verse also models humility—admitting uncertainty while affirming the seriousness of ethical responsibility.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective setting after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks in a tone of moral questioning. He confesses the challenge of knowing dharma with certainty and uses two strong metaphors—razor’s edge and mountain—to convey both its subtlety and its overwhelming gravity.