Shloka 14
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
अनुरोधविरोधाभ्यां सम: स्यादचलो ध्रुव: । सुकृतं दुष्कृतं चोभे नानुरुध्येत कर्मणा
anurodha-virodhābhyāṃ samaḥ syād acalo dhruvaḥ | sukṛtaṃ duṣkṛtaṃ cobhe nānurudhyet karmaṇā ||
Bhishma said: One should remain even-minded in the face of others’ requests and objections—unshaken and steady. And through one’s actions, one should not become a follower of either merit or sin (i.e., one should not act from craving for reward or from wrongful impulse), but act with steadfast inner balance.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Maintain equanimity when others urge or oppose you, and let your conduct be steady and principled—neither driven by the lure of merit/reward nor pulled into sin; act from inner steadiness rather than external pressure.
In the Shanti Parva’s dharma-instruction setting, Bhishma is advising on right conduct and mental discipline, emphasizing steadiness of mind and independence from social pressure and from the twin pulls of craving for merit and inclination toward wrongdoing.