Shloka 20
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
आनुृशंस्यं परो धर्म इति तस्मै प्रदीयते । यत्र तत्र समुत्पन्नं गुणायैवोपपद्यते,दया सबसे बड़ा धर्म है। यह समझकर ही उसे धनका भाग दिया जाता है। दया जहाँ भी उत्पन्न हो, वह गुणकारक ही होती है
Bhīṣma uvāca: ānṛśaṁsyaṁ paro dharma iti tasmai pradīyate | yatra tatra samutpannaṁ guṇāyaivopapadyate ||
ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຄວາມເມດຕາກະລຸນາແມ່ນທຳອັນສູງສຸດ»—ເພາະເຂົ້າໃຈດັ່ງນັ້ນ ຈຶ່ງມອບສ່ວນໃຫ້ເຂົາ. ຄວາມເມດຕາກະລຸນາເກີດຂຶ້ນທີ່ໃດ ໃນກໍລະນີໃດ ຍ່ອມນຳໄປສູ່ຄຸນຄ່າແຫ່ງຄວາມດີເສມອ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ānṛśaṁsya (compassion/non-cruelty) is the supreme form of dharma, and that wherever compassion arises it necessarily produces guṇa—moral excellence and beneficial outcomes.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he emphasizes compassion as a decisive ethical principle, presenting it as a reason for granting a person their due share and as a universally beneficial quality in any context.