Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 14
अश्वमेधावसानम् — Dakṣiṇā-vibhāga and Avabhṛtha
Completion of the Aśvamedha
धर्मोपघातकस्त्वेष समारम्भस्तव प्रभो । नायं धर्मकृतो यज्ञो न हिंसा धर्म उच्यते
dharma-upaghātakas tveṣa samārambhas tava prabho | nāyaṃ dharma-kṛto yajño na hiṃsā dharma ucyate ||
“ਪ੍ਰਭੂ! ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਇਹ ਯੱਗ-ਆਰੰਭ ਧਰਮ ਨੂੰ ਘਾਤ ਪਹੁੰਚਾਉਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਹੈ। ਇਹ ਯੱਗ ਧਰਮ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਨਹੀਂ, ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਹਿੰਸਾ ਨੂੰ ਕਿਤੇ ਵੀ ਧਰਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਕਿਹਾ ਗਿਆ।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts an ethical principle: an act that harms dharma cannot be justified as dharma, and violence (hiṃsā) is not to be labeled righteousness—especially when presented under the guise of a sacrificial rite.
The narrator reports a moral objection raised against a sacrificial undertaking: the speaker addresses a ‘lord’ and challenges the legitimacy of the yajña on ethical grounds, arguing that its violent aspect makes it contrary to dharma.