Shloka 11

Devanagari script

स एव धर्म: सो<धर्मो देशकाले प्रतिष्ठित: । आदानमनृतं हिंसा धर्मो ह्यावस्थिक: स्मृत:,“एक ही क्रिया देश और कालके भेदसे धर्म या अधर्म हो जाती है! चोरी करना, झूठ बोलना एवं हिंसा करना आदि अधर्म भी अवस्थाविशेषमें धर्म माने गये हैं

Transliteration

sa eva dharmaḥ so 'dharmaḥ deśa-kāle pratiṣṭhitaḥ | ādānam anṛtaṃ hiṃsā dharmo hy āvasthikaḥ smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

ವ್ಯಾಸನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಅದೇ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ ದೇಶ-ಕಾಲದ ಭೇದದಿಂದ ಧರ್ಮವೂ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ, ಅಧರ್ಮವೂ ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೊಡದದ್ದನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು, ಅಸತ್ಯವಾಡುವುದು, ಹಿಂಸೆ—ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ನಿಂದಿತ; ಆದರೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಧರ್ಮವೆಂದು ಸ್ಮೃತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ.

Word by Word

सःthat (he/it)

एवindeed/only

धर्मःdharma, righteousness

सःthat

अधर्मःunrighteousness, adharma

देशकालेin (a given) place and time

प्रतिष्ठितःestablished, fixed

आदानम्taking, appropriation (stealing)

अनृतम्falsehood, untruth

हिंसाviolence, injury

धर्मःdharma

हिindeed/for

आवस्थिकःdependent on circumstance, situational

स्मृतःis considered/remembered (as)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not always a fixed label attached to an action; the same deed can be righteous or unrighteous depending on deśa (place), kāla (time), and āvasthā (circumstance). Hence even acts normally classed as wrong—taking, lying, or violence—may become duty in exceptional conditions (especially in crisis or governance contexts).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and governance, Vyāsa articulates a principle of contextual judgment: moral evaluation must consider circumstance. This frames later discussions on emergency duty (āpaddharma) and the hard choices faced by rulers and protectors of society.