Shloka 13
यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्
Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics
युधिछिर उवाच शरीरमापदश्षापि विवदन्त्यविहिंसत: । कथं यात्रा शरीरस्य निरारम्भस्य सेत्स्यते
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
śarīram āpadaś cāpi vivadanty avihiṃsataḥ |
kathaṃ yātrā śarīrasya nirārambhasya setsyate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: Even for one who is devoted to non-violence, the body and times of distress seem to quarrel with each other—calamity wears the body down, while the body longs to overcome calamity. How, then, can a person who undertakes no worldly enterprise at all—out of fear of even subtle harm—successfully sustain the journey of the body (i.e., maintain life)?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic dilemma: absolute non-violence can conflict with the practical need to sustain the body, especially during adversity. It asks how one can live if one refuses all undertakings out of fear of causing even subtle harm.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about the feasibility of strict ahiṃsā in real life. He points out that adversity pressures the body, and survival seems to require actions that may entail some degree of harm.