Shloka 12
परिव्राजक-आचारः (Conduct of the Wandering Renunciant) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 269
सत्यं हि धर्ममास्थाय दुराधर्षतमा मता: । न मात्रामनुरुध्यन्ते न धर्मच्छलमन्ततः,वे सत्यधर्मका आश्रय लेकर ही अत्यन्त दुर्धर्ष माने जाते थे। लेशमात्र भी पाप नहीं करते थे और प्राणान्तका अवसर उपस्थित होनेपर भी धर्मके विषयमें छलसे काम नहीं लेते थे
satyaṁ hi dharmam āsthāya durādharṣatamā matāḥ | na mātrām anurudhyante na dharmacchalam antataḥ ||
Ибо, утвердившись в истине как в самой своей дхарме, они считались совершенно неприступными. Они не уступали ни на малую долю и даже в последней крайности не прибегали к обману под именем дхармы.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
True strength is moral: those who take truth as their dharma become ‘unassailable’ because they refuse compromise and reject any deceit that masquerades as righteousness, even under extreme pressure.
Kapila is describing the character of exemplary practitioners of dharma: they are known for unwavering adherence to truth, do not bend even slightly, and do not employ ‘dharma-pretexts’ (dharmacchala) to justify wrongdoing, even at the point of death.