Shloka 19
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
एवमेषा महाराज चतुर्भि: कारणैर्वृता । अहिंसा तव निर्दिष्टा सर्वधर्मानुसंहिता
evameṣā mahārāja caturbhiḥ kāraṇair vṛtā | ahiṃsā tava nirdiṣṭā sarvadharmānusaṃhitā ||
Bhishma berkata: “Demikianlah, wahai raja agung, prinsip ini—yang ditegakkan dan dipelihara oleh empat sebab pendukung—telah dinyatakan kepadamu sebagai ahiṃsā (tidak melakukan kekerasan). Ia terjalin dengan, dan menghimpun dalam dirinya, inti segala dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that ahiṃsā (non-violence/non-injury) is not a minor or isolated virtue but a principle supported by multiple foundations and permeating all forms of dharma; it functions as a unifying ethical thread across duties and moral disciplines.
During Bhishma’s instruction to King Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anushasana Parva, he summarizes his exposition on ahiṃsā, stating that it is upheld through four supporting causes and that it is integrated with the entirety of dharma.