Shloka 128
युधिछिर उवाच धर्म एव हतो हन्ति धर्मो रक्षति रक्षित: । तस्माद् धर्म न त्यजामि मा नो धर्मो हतोडवधीत्,युधिष्ठिर बोले--यदि धर्मका नाश किया जाय, तो वह नष्ट हुआ धर्म ही कर्ताको भी नष्ट कर देता है और यदि उसकी रक्षा की जाय, तो वही कर्ताकी भी रक्षा कर लेता है। इसीसे मैं धर्मका त्याग नहीं करता कि कहीं नष्ट होकर वह धर्म मेरा ही नाश न कर दे
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | dharma eva hato hanti dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ | tasmād dharma na tyajāmi mā no dharmo hato ’vadhīt ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Dharma, when violated, strikes back and destroys the violator; dharma, when protected, protects the protector. Therefore I do not abandon dharma—lest dharma, once ruined, should in turn ruin me.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is reciprocal and consequential: violating righteousness ultimately harms the violator, while safeguarding righteousness safeguards one’s own life and integrity. The verse frames dharma not as abstract theory but as a living moral order that responds to human choices.
Yudhiṣṭhira, known for unwavering commitment to righteousness, articulates why he refuses to abandon dharma even under pressure and hardship: he fears the moral and practical ruin that follows from compromising dharma, and trusts in the protective power of upheld righteousness.