Shloka 32
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
सैवमुक्ता महाराज कृताज्जलिरुवाच ह । पुनरेव महात्मानं नेति देवेशमव्ययम्,महाराज! ब्रह्माजीके ऐसा कहनेपर मृत्यु हाथ जोड़कर उन अविनाशी महात्मा देवेश्वर ब्रह्मासे पुन: इस प्रकार बोली--'प्रभो! मैं प्राणियोंका संहार नहीं करूँगी”
saivam uktā mahārāja kṛtāñjalir uvāca ha | punar eva mahātmānaṃ neti deveśam avyayam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi, après qu’on lui eut parlé ainsi, la Mort, les mains jointes en signe de révérence, s’adressa de nouveau à l’impérissable magnanime, Seigneur des dieux (Brahmā), en disant : “Non, Seigneur : je n’accomplirai pas la destruction des êtres vivants.”»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even forces associated with punishment or ending (like Death) are portrayed as bound by dharma and moral hesitation; the text highlights compassion and restraint as virtues that must be weighed alongside cosmic duty.
Death, personified as a reverent supplicant, addresses the imperishable Lord of the gods (identified in the gloss as Brahmā) and refuses—at least momentarily—to undertake the destruction of living beings, indicating a tension between ordained function and ethical reluctance.