Shloka 18
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
सर्वात्मनैव धर्मस्य न परस्य न चात्मन: । सर्वोपायैरुज्जिहीर्षेदात्मानमिति निश्चय:
sarvātmanāiva dharmasya na parasya na cātmanaḥ | sarvopāyair ujjihīrṣed ātmānam iti niścayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «En temps de crise, qu’on ne fixe pas son regard sur les devoirs d’autrui, ni même sur son devoir habituel pris comme tel. De tout son être, en recourant à tous les moyens possibles, qu’on cherche à se sauver soi-même : telle est la conclusion arrêtée.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme distress, the priority becomes safeguarding life and stability: one should act wholeheartedly and use every practical means for self-rescue, rather than rigidly clinging to formal notions of ‘my duty’ or ‘another’s duty’.
During the Shanti Parva instruction, Bhishma advises on dharma and right conduct. Here he addresses conduct in emergencies, emphasizing pragmatic self-protection as a broadly accepted conclusion.