Shloka 6
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
अहिंसादिकृतं कर्म इह चैव परत्र च | श्रद्धां निहन्ति वै ब्रह्मन् सा हता हन्ति त॑ नरम्
ahiṃsādikṛtaṃ karma iha caiva paratra ca | śraddhāṃ nihanti vai brahman sā hatā hanti taṃ naram ||
Bhishma said: “An act performed under the impulse of non-violence, compassion, and the like yields excellent results both in this world and in the next. But, O Brahmin, if the mind harbors an intention of violence, it destroys faith; and when faith is thus destroyed, that very ruined faith brings about the downfall of the violent doer himself.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions rooted in non-violence and compassion bear good fruit in both worlds, whereas a violent intention corrodes śraddhā (faith). Once faith is destroyed, the agent loses the inner foundation of dharma, and that collapse leads to the doer’s own ruin.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising the listener (addressed as ‘O Brahmin’) by contrasting the fruits of compassionate action with the destructive chain that begins when the mind entertains हिंसा (violence): it kills faith, and the loss of faith ultimately destroys the violent person.