Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
अहिंसा परम धर्म है, अहिंसा परम संयम है, अहिंसा परम दान है और अहिंसा परम तपस्या है ।।
ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ, ahiṃsā paramaḥ saṃyamaḥ, ahiṃsā paramaṃ dānam, ahiṃsā paramā tapasyā. ahiṃsā paramo yajñas tathāhiṃsā paraṃ phalam | ahiṃsā paramaṃ mitram ahiṃsā paramaṃ sukham ||
ビーシュマは宣言した。「アヒンサーは最高のダルマであり、至高の自己抑制(サンヤマ)である。最大の布施であり、最高の苦行でもある。さらにアヒンサーは最勝のヤジュニャ(祭祀)であり、また最大の果報である。最良の友であり、至上の幸福である。」
भीष्म उवाच
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is presented as the supreme value that encompasses and surpasses other virtues: it is the highest dharma, the deepest self-restraint, the greatest charity, the truest austerity, the best sacrifice, and the surest source of reward, friendship, and happiness.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma from his bed of arrows. Here he emphasizes a foundational ethical principle—ahiṃsā—as the guiding standard for righteous conduct and spiritual merit.