Shloka 63
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
येन येन विशेषण कर्मणा येन केनचित् | अभ्युज्जीवेत् साद्यमान: समर्थों धर्ममाचरेत्,“जो भूखों मर रहा हो, वह जिस-जिस उपायसे अथवा जिस किसी भी कर्मसे सम्भव हो, अपने जीवनकी रक्षा करे, फिर समर्थ होनेपर वह धर्मका आचरण कर सकता है
yena yena viśeṣeṇa karmaṇā yena kenacit | abhyujjīvet sādyamānaḥ samartho dharmam ācaret ||
Dia berkata: “Apabila seseorang didesak oleh kelaparan hingga ke ambang maut, hendaklah dia memelihara nyawanya dengan apa jua ikhtiar yang khusus, dengan apa jua pekerjaan yang termampu. Setelah dia kembali berdaya dan teguh untuk hidup, barulah dia boleh mengamalkan dharma.”
घपच उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme distress (especially life-threatening hunger), preserving life takes priority; once safety and capacity return, one should resume the normal practice of dharma. This reflects the Mahabharata’s apaddharma principle—ethics adapted to emergency conditions.
Within the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, the speaker states a rule for crisis situations: a starving person may use any workable means to stay alive, and only after becoming capable again should he return to regular dharmic observance.