Shloka 2
दीर्घदर्शी–दीर्घसूत्र–संप्रतिपत्तिमान् आख्यानम्
The Parable of Foresight, Procrastination, and Presence of Mind
तत्र न व्यवधातव्यं परोक्षा धर्मयापना । अधर्मो धर्म इत्येतद् यथा वृकपदं तथा
tatra na vyavadhātavyaṃ parokṣā dharmayāpanā | adharmo dharma ity etad yathā vṛkapadaṃ tathā ||
Bhīṣma dit : «En de telles matières, on ne doit pas entraver autrui dans l’accomplissement de son devoir, car l’action du dharma n’est pas directement visible. Trancher “ceci est dharma” ou “ceci est adharma” est difficile—comme l’empreinte d’un loup, qu’on peut prendre pour celle d’un tigre ou d’un chien.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma’s results and true nature are often indirect and hard to verify; therefore one should be cautious in declaring something dharma/adharma and should not lightly obstruct another’s rightful performance of duty based on uncertain moral judgments.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on the subtlety of dharma. He uses the analogy of a wolf’s footprint—easily confused with other animals’ tracks—to illustrate how difficult it can be to judge moral right and wrong with certainty.