Shloka 15
Adhyāya 55 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Hesitation and Bhīṣma’s Authorization of Inquiry
Rājadharma Prelude
पितृन् पितामहान् भ्रातृन् गुरून् सम्बन्धिबान्धवान् | मिथ्याप्रवृत्तान् यः संख्ये निहन्याद् धर्म एव सः
pitṝn pitāmahān bhrātṝn gurūn sambandhi-bāndhavān | mithyāpravṛttān yaḥ saṅkhye nihanyād dharma eva saḥ ||
Бхишма сказал: «Даже если это собственные отцы и предки, братья, учителя и прочие родичи и близкие — когда они избрали ложный и неправедный путь — тот, кто поражает их в бою, самим этим деянием совершает истинную дхарму.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
If close kin and revered elders have adopted an unrighteous course (mithyāpravṛtti), then opposing them—even to the point of killing in a just battle—is counted as dharma, because allegiance to truth and righteousness supersedes personal attachment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma articulates a hard ethical principle for wartime duty: when relatives become agents of falsehood and adharma, a warrior’s obligation to uphold dharma can require fighting them without being restrained by familial bonds.