Shloka 8
मांसभक्षण-दोषाः तथा अहिंसाया माहात्म्यम् | Faults of Meat-Consumption and the Supremacy of Ahiṃsā
न तत् परस्य संदध्यात् प्रतिकूलं यदात्मन: । एष संक्षेपतो धर्म: कामादन्य: प्रवर्तते
na tat parasya sandadhyāt pratikūlaṃ yad ātmanaḥ | eṣa saṃkṣepato dharmaḥ kāmād anyaḥ pravartate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «No debe hacerse a otro lo que uno mismo hallaría dañino o desagradable. Ésta es, en breve, la definición del dharma. Toda conducta contraria a ello nace del kāma, del deseo, y no de la rectitud».
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma, in its simplest form, is empathetic restraint: do not impose on others what you would not accept for yourself. Actions that violate this principle are driven by kāma (self-centered desire) rather than righteousness.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a concise ethical criterion for right conduct, contrasting dharma with behavior motivated by desire.