Shloka 28
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
अहिंसा परमो धर्मस्तथाहिंसा परो दम: । अहिंसा परमं दानमहिंसा परम तप:
ahiṃsā paramo dharmas tathāhiṃsā paro damaḥ | ahiṃsā paramaṃ dānam ahiṃsā paramaḥ tapaḥ ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: Ahiṃsā—tidak melakukan kekerasan—ialah dharma yang tertinggi; demikian juga ahiṃsā ialah pengendalian diri yang paling luhur. Ahiṃsā ialah derma yang terbesar, dan ahiṃsā ialah tapa (austeriti) yang paling utama.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is presented as the summit of four major ethical-spiritual ideals: dharma (right duty), dama (self-restraint), dāna (true giving), and tapaḥ (effective austerity). The verse teaches that the highest forms of morality and spiritual practice are grounded in not harming living beings.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma—lying on the bed of arrows and teaching Yudhiṣṭhira—delivers authoritative guidance on dharma. Here he emphasizes ahiṃsā as a foundational principle that should govern conduct even amid the post-war moral reckoning.