Shloka 5
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
यथा सर्वश्षतुष्पाद वै त्रिभि: पादैर्न तिष्ठति । तथैवेयं महीपाल कारणै: प्रोच्यते त्रिभि:
yathā sarvaś catuṣpād vai tribhiḥ pādair na tiṣṭhati | tathaiveyaṃ mahīpāla kāraṇaiḥ procyate tribhiḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “Ó rei, assim como uma criatura de quatro patas não pode firmar-se apenas sobre três, do mesmo modo, a não-violência mantida ou explicada por meras três causas não pode ser chamada de não-violência completa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is not truly complete if it is upheld or justified by only a partial set of reasons or supports; like a four-footed animal needing all four legs to stand, non-violence must rest on a full foundation to be called genuine.
Bhishma is instructing the king (Yudhishthira) in ethical and dharmic principles. He uses a simple analogy—an animal cannot stand on three legs—to emphasize that a moral principle like ahiṃsā cannot be considered fully established when supported by only three factors.