Shloka 19

Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure

Devanagari script

एवमेषा महाराज चतुर्भि: कारणैर्वृता । अहिंसा तव निर्दिष्टा सर्वधर्मानुसंहिता

Transliteration

evameṣā mahārāja caturbhiḥ kāraṇair vṛtā | ahiṃsā tava nirdiṣṭā sarvadharmānusaṃhitā ||

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า—ข้าแต่มหาราช, ดังนี้ อหิงสา (การไม่เบียดเบียน) อันตั้งมั่นด้วยเหตุเกื้อหนุนสี่ประการ ได้ถูกแสดงแก่พระองค์แล้ว. อหิงสานี้สอดประสานและรวบรวมแก่นแห่งธรรมทั้งปวงไว้ในตน.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एषा: this (she/this one)
• एषा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• चतुर्भिः: by four
• चतुर्भिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• कारणैः: by causes/reasons
• कारणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• वृता: observed/practised; adopted
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• अहिंसा: non-violence
• अहिंसा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहिंसा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: for you / of you
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• निर्दिष्टा: indicated/taught
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + दिश्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• सर्वधर्मानुसंहिता: comprehending/including all dharmas
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वधर्मानुसंहिता
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mahārāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that ahiṃsā (non-violence/non-injury) is not a minor or isolated virtue but a principle supported by multiple foundations and permeating all forms of dharma; it functions as a unifying ethical thread across duties and moral disciplines.

What is happening in the narrative?

During Bhishma’s instruction to King Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anushasana Parva, he summarizes his exposition on ahiṃsā, stating that it is upheld through four supporting causes and that it is integrated with the entirety of dharma.