Shloka 15
Adhyāya 55 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Hesitation and Bhīṣma’s Authorization of Inquiry
Rājadharma Prelude
पितृन् पितामहान् भ्रातृन् गुरून् सम्बन्धिबान्धवान् | मिथ्याप्रवृत्तान् यः संख्ये निहन्याद् धर्म एव सः
pitṝn pitāmahān bhrātṝn gurūn sambandhi-bāndhavān | mithyāpravṛttān yaḥ saṅkhye nihanyād dharma eva saḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「たとえそれが己の父や祖父、兄弟、師、そして親族・縁者であろうとも——彼らが虚偽と不義の道に身を投じたなら——戦場でこれを討つ者は、その行為そのものによって真のダルマを行うのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
If close kin and revered elders have adopted an unrighteous course (mithyāpravṛtti), then opposing them—even to the point of killing in a just battle—is counted as dharma, because allegiance to truth and righteousness supersedes personal attachment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma articulates a hard ethical principle for wartime duty: when relatives become agents of falsehood and adharma, a warrior’s obligation to uphold dharma can require fighting them without being restrained by familial bonds.