Shloka 14

यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्

Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच यथा शरीर न ग्लायेन्नेयान्मृत्युवशं यथा । तथा कर्मसु वर्तेत समर्थों धर्ममाचरेत्‌

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | yathā śarīraṃ na glāyet neyān mṛtyuvaśaṃ yathā | tathā karmasu varteta samartho dharmam ācaret ||

Translation

ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—કર્મોમાં એવી રીતે પ્રવૃત્ત થવું જોઈએ કે શરીર ન તો ક્ષીણ થાય અને ન મૃત્યુના વશમાં પડે; કારણ કે શરીર સમર્થ હોય ત્યારે જ મનુષ્ય ધર્મનું આચરણ કરી શકે છે।

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'yathā': 'so that

• in such a manner that', 'śarīram': 'the body', 'na': 'not', 'glāyet': 'should become weak, languish, waste away', 'na iyāt (neyāt)': 'should not go

• should not fall into', 'mṛtyu-vaśam': 'the control/power of death', 'tathā': 'thus

• in that way', 'karmasu': 'in actions

• in duties/works', 'varteta': 'one should conduct oneself

• should act', 'samarthaḥ': 'capable, competent, strong', 'dharmam': 'dharma

• moral law', 'ācaret': 'should practice

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yudhishthira
• Death (Mṛtyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not merely an ideal; it requires practical capacity. Therefore one should act and live in a way that preserves bodily strength and avoids self-destructive extremes, because only a capable person can consistently practice righteous duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on righteous living after the war. Here he emphasizes balanced conduct: perform duties without ruining the body, since physical capability supports sustained observance of dharma.