Shloka 29
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
अहिंसा परम धर्म है, अहिंसा परम संयम है, अहिंसा परम दान है और अहिंसा परम तपस्या है ।।
ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ, ahiṃsā paramaḥ saṃyamaḥ, ahiṃsā paramaṃ dānam, ahiṃsā paramā tapasyā. ahiṃsā paramo yajñas tathāhiṃsā paraṃ phalam | ahiṃsā paramaṃ mitram ahiṃsā paramaṃ sukham ||
Bhīṣma mengisytiharkan: Ahiṃsā ialah dharma yang tertinggi dan juga disiplin pengendalian diri yang paling agung. Ia derma yang terbesar dan tapa yang paling tinggi. Ahiṃsā ialah yajña (korban suci) yang utama dan juga ganjaran yang terbesar; ahiṃsā ialah sahabat yang terbaik dan kebahagiaan yang tertinggi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is presented as the supreme value that encompasses and surpasses other virtues: it is the highest dharma, the deepest self-restraint, the greatest charity, the truest austerity, the best sacrifice, and the surest source of reward, friendship, and happiness.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma from his bed of arrows. Here he emphasizes a foundational ethical principle—ahiṃsā—as the guiding standard for righteous conduct and spiritual merit.