Shloka 26
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
धर्मादुत्कृष्यते श्रेयस्तथाश्रेयोडप्यधर्मत: । रागवान् प्रकृतिं होति विरक्तो ज्ञानवान् भवेत्
dharmād utkr̥ṣyate śreyas tathāśreyo 'py adharmataḥ | rāgavān prakr̥tiṁ hoti virakto jñānavān bhavet ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ダルマによって真の善は高められ、アダルマによっては安寧さえ害へと転ずる。執着に駆られる者は自然とその衝動の支配へと落ち戻るが、離欲の者は真知を具え、それによって解脱へと進む。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma increases śreyas (the higher good), while adharma produces aśreyas (harm). Attachment (rāga) binds one to prakṛti and its compulsions; detachment (virāga) supports true knowledge (jñāna), which leads toward freedom.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on right conduct and inner discipline after the war. Here he contrasts the outcomes of dharma versus adharma and links ethical life with the psychological-spiritual shift from attachment to knowledge and liberation.