Shloka 30
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
न धनार्थ यशो<र्थ वा धर्मस्तेषां युधिष्ठिर । अवश्यं कार्य इत्येव शरीरस्य क्रियास्तथा
na dhanārthaṃ yaśo'rthaṃ vā dharmas teṣāṃ yudhiṣṭhira | avaśyaṃ kārya ityeva śarīrasya kriyās tathā ||
Бхишма сказал: О Юдхиштхира, они исполняют дхарму не ради богатства и не ради славы. Они действуют из убеждения, что дхарму следует совершать как неизбежный долг; так же и необходимые дела тела они выполняют лишь потому, что их надлежит выполнять.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma should be performed without ulterior motives such as wealth or fame; it is to be done because it is intrinsically obligatory—like the basic maintenance-actions of the body that one performs simply because they must be done.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous living, Bhishma continues advising King Yudhishthira, describing the attitude of the truly virtuous: they uphold dharma as a necessary duty rather than as a means to worldly reward or social recognition.