Shloka 19
Daṇḍa, Ahiṃsā, and Proportional Kingship: The Dyumatsena–Satyavān Dialogue (दण्ड-अहिंसा-विवेकः)
येनैवान्य: प्रभवति सो5परानपि बाधते । आचाराणामनैकाग्र्यं सर्वेषामुपलक्षयेत्,जिस धर्मको अपनाकर एक व्यक्ति उन्नति करता है, उसीसे दूसरा दूसरोंको पीड़ा देता है; अत: सबके लिये आचारोंकी एकरूपता कोई नहीं दिखा सकता
yenai vānyaḥ prabhavati so 'parān api bādhate | ācārāṇām anaikāgryaṃ sarveṣām upalakṣayet ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «La voie de conduite par laquelle l’un prospère peut, entre les mains d’un autre, devenir un moyen de tourmenter et d’opprimer autrui. Ainsi, nul ne peut désigner une norme unique et uniforme de conduite qui convienne pareillement à tous.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma and proper conduct (ācāra) are not always one-size-fits-all: the same practice that benefits one person can become harmful when adopted by another. Hence ethical judgment must consider the agent’s nature, capacity, and context rather than insisting on a single uniform rule for everyone.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on dharma after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira raises a subtle ethical concern: he notes that people differ, and therefore the same ‘dharma’ or mode of conduct can lead to different outcomes—uplift for one, harm for another—making universal prescriptions difficult.