Shloka 6
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
न च पापकृतः पापान्मुच्यन्ते केचिदापदि । अपापवादी भवति यथा भवति धर्मकृत् । धर्मस्य निष्ठा त्वाचारस्तमेवाश्रित्य भोत्स्यसे
bhīṣma uvāca | na ca pāpakṛtaḥ pāpān mucyante kecid āpadi | apāpavādī bhavati yathā bhavati dharmakṛt | dharmasya niṣṭhā tv ācāras tam evāśritya bhotsyase |
Orang yang melakukan dosa tidaklah, dalam apa jua krisis, terlepas daripada dosanya secara automatik. Sebagaimana pelaku dharma tidak menjadi pembela dosa, demikian juga asas yang teguh bagi dharma ialah ācāra—tata laku yang benar. Oleh itu, dengan berlindung pada tata laku yang benar sahaja, engkau akan mampu memahami dan menghayati hakikat dharma, walau dalam kesusahan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral responsibility does not vanish in times of crisis: wrongdoing is not erased merely because one suffers during adversity. Dharma rests on ācāra—consistent right conduct—and a truly righteous person does not justify sin even under pressure.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he emphasizes that even in calamity one should not defend or normalize wrongdoing, and that the reliable guide to dharma is established good conduct (ācāra).