Shloka 6
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
अहिंसादिकृतं कर्म इह चैव परत्र च | श्रद्धां निहन्ति वै ब्रह्मन् सा हता हन्ति त॑ नरम्
ahiṃsādikṛtaṃ karma iha caiva paratra ca | śraddhāṃ nihanti vai brahman sā hatā hanti taṃ naram ||
Bhishma disse: “O ato praticado sob o impulso da não violência, da compaixão e de virtudes semelhantes produz excelentes frutos tanto neste mundo quanto no outro. Mas, ó brâmane, se a mente abriga a intenção de violência, ela destrói a śraddhā (a fé); e, quando a fé é assim destruída, essa mesma fé arruinada provoca a queda do próprio agente violento.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions rooted in non-violence and compassion bear good fruit in both worlds, whereas a violent intention corrodes śraddhā (faith). Once faith is destroyed, the agent loses the inner foundation of dharma, and that collapse leads to the doer’s own ruin.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising the listener (addressed as ‘O Brahmin’) by contrasting the fruits of compassionate action with the destructive chain that begins when the mind entertains हिंसा (violence): it kills faith, and the loss of faith ultimately destroys the violent person.