Shloka 6
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
न च पापकृतः पापान्मुच्यन्ते केचिदापदि । अपापवादी भवति यथा भवति धर्मकृत् । धर्मस्य निष्ठा त्वाचारस्तमेवाश्रित्य भोत्स्यसे
bhīṣma uvāca | na ca pāpakṛtaḥ pāpān mucyante kecid āpadi | apāpavādī bhavati yathā bhavati dharmakṛt | dharmasya niṣṭhā tv ācāras tam evāśritya bhotsyase |
Orang yang berbuat dosa tidak serta-merta terbebas dari dosanya, sekalipun dalam masa krisis ia menanggung penderitaan. Sebagaimana pelaku dharma tidak menjadi pembela dosa, demikian pula keteguhan dharma berakar pada ācāra—laku yang benar. Karena itu (Yudhiṣṭhira), dengan bersandar pada perilaku yang benar itulah engkau akan memahami dan menghidupi hakikat dharma, bahkan di tengah kesukaran.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral responsibility does not vanish in times of crisis: wrongdoing is not erased merely because one suffers during adversity. Dharma rests on ācāra—consistent right conduct—and a truly righteous person does not justify sin even under pressure.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes that even in calamity one should not defend or normalize wrongdoing, and that the reliable guide to dharma is established good conduct (ācāra).