Shloka 5
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
न हिंस्यात् सर्वभूतानि मैत्रायणगतकश्चरेत् । नेदं जीवितमासाद्य वैरं कुर्वीत केनचित्
na hiṁsyāt sarvabhūtāni maitrāyaṇagatakś caret | nedaṁ jīvitam āsādya vairaṁ kurvīta kenacit ||
Bhīṣma teaches that one should not harm any living being, but move through the world grounded in friendliness toward all. Having obtained this fleeting life, one should not create enmity with anyone—since such hostility only deepens suffering and obstructs the path of dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Practice ahiṁsā (non-harm) toward all beings, live with maitrī (friendliness), and avoid creating vaira (enmity), recognizing the impermanence of human life and the ethical cost of hostility.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war; here he gives a concise moral directive emphasizing nonviolence, universal friendliness, and the renunciation of personal enmity.