Shloka 17
Adhyāya 55 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Hesitation and Bhīṣma’s Authorization of Inquiry
Rājadharma Prelude
यो लोभान्न समीक्षेत धर्मसेतुं सनातनम् | निहन्ति यस्तं समरे क्षत्रियो वै स धर्मवित्
bhīṣma uvāca | yo lobhān na samīkṣeta dharmasetuṃ sanātanam | nihanti yas taṃ samare kṣatriyo vai sa dharmavit ||
ភីෂ្មៈបានមានព្រះវាចា៖ អ្នកណាដែលដោយសារលោភលន់ មិនសូម្បីតែមើលទៅកាន់ស្ពាននៃធម៌ដ៏អស់កាល—បុរសដូច្នោះ បើត្រូវក្សត្រីយៈវាយសម្លាប់នៅលើសមរភូមិ ក្សត្រីយៈនោះពិតជាត្រូវចាត់ថាជាអ្នកដឹងធម៌។
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A warrior’s violence is not automatically unrighteous; when it is exercised as kshatriya-duty against a person who, driven by greed, disregards the eternal moral boundary (dharma-setu), that act can be dharmic. The verse frames dharma as a stable, protective order, and condemns greed as a force that blinds one to it.
Bhishma is instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva. Here he describes a type of wrongdoer—one who ignores dharma’s enduring limits due to greed—and states that a Kshatriya who kills such a person in battle is to be considered a knower of dharma, emphasizing the moral rationale for righteous warfare.