Shloka 8
यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्
Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics
यदि यज्ञांश्न वक्षांश्न यूपांश्नोद्दिश्य मानवा: । वृथा मांसं न खादन्ति नैष धर्म: प्रशस्थते
Bhīṣma uvāca: yadi yajñārtham vṛkṣān yūpārtham uddiśya mānavāḥ vṛthā māṁsaṁ na khādanti, naiṣa dharmaḥ praśasyate.
Bhishma said: If people argue that when humans cut down trees for sacrificial posts (yūpas) and eat meat obtained through animal offerings for the sake of sacrifice, it is not ‘wasted’ and is therefore righteous—this is not acceptable. Such a notion of dharma is not praised, for righteousness cannot be justified merely by attaching the label of sacrifice to acts of harm.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma rejects the claim that harm becomes righteous merely because it is linked to sacrifice. Dharma is not validated by ritual labeling; actions involving violence (such as cutting trees for yūpas and consuming sacrificial meat) are not automatically praiseworthy.
In the Shanti Parva’s ethical instruction, Bhishma addresses arguments used to defend sacrificial violence. He counters that such reasoning does not establish true dharma and that this kind of ‘dharma’ is not commended.