Shloka 20
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
आनुृशंस्यं परो धर्म इति तस्मै प्रदीयते । यत्र तत्र समुत्पन्नं गुणायैवोपपद्यते,दया सबसे बड़ा धर्म है। यह समझकर ही उसे धनका भाग दिया जाता है। दया जहाँ भी उत्पन्न हो, वह गुणकारक ही होती है
Bhīṣma uvāca: ānṛśaṁsyaṁ paro dharma iti tasmai pradīyate | yatra tatra samutpannaṁ guṇāyaivopapadyate ||
Dengan memahami bahwa “welas asih adalah dharma tertinggi”, maka bagian itu diberikan kepadanya. Di mana pun welas asih muncul, dalam keadaan apa pun, ia niscaya melahirkan kebajikan dan kebaikan moral.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ānṛśaṁsya (compassion/non-cruelty) is the supreme form of dharma, and that wherever compassion arises it necessarily produces guṇa—moral excellence and beneficial outcomes.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he emphasizes compassion as a decisive ethical principle, presenting it as a reason for granting a person their due share and as a universally beneficial quality in any context.