Shloka 3

यज्ञेऽहिंसा-प्राधान्यम्

Primacy of Non-Harm in Sacrificial Ethics

Devanagari script

स्वस्ति गोभ्यो<स्तु लोकेषु ततो निर्वचनं कृतम्‌ । हिंसायां हि प्रवृत्तायामाशीरेषा तु कल्पिता,“संसारमें समस्त गौओंका कल्याण हो।” जब हिंसा आरम्भ होने जा रही थी, उस समय उन्होंने गौओंके लिये यह शुभ कामना प्रकट की और उस हिंसाका निषेध करते हुए कहा --

Transliteration

svasti gobhyo 'stu lokeṣu tato nirvacanaṃ kṛtam | hiṃsāyāṃ hi pravṛttāyām āśīr eṣā tu kalpitā |

Translation

“ขอความสวัสดีจงมีแก่โคทั้งหลายในทุกโลก” ครั้นตรัสดังนี้แล้วจึงมีถ้อยประกาศนั้น; เพราะเมื่อความรุนแรงกำลังจะเริ่มขึ้น พรคำนี้ถูกวางไว้โดยเจตนา เพื่ออัญเชิญสวัสดิภาพแห่งโคและยับยั้งการเบียดเบียนนั้น

Word by Word

स्वस्तिwelfare; auspiciousness

गोभ्यःto the cows

अस्तुlet there be

लोकेषुin the worlds

ततःthereupon; then

निर्वचनम्the utterance/statement (of blessing)

कृतम्was made; done

हिंसायाम्when/with violence (in the matter of violence)

हिindeed; for

प्रवृत्तायाम्having begun; being set in motion

आशीःa blessing; benediction

एषाthis

तुbut; indeed

कल्पिताwas devised/ordained

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

cows (go)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when violence is imminent, dharma urges restraint: auspicious speech and explicit concern for the welfare of innocents—here symbolized by cows—functions as a moral check against harm (hiṃsā) and a reminder of protective duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma explains that a traditional blessing—"May there be welfare for the cows in all the worlds"—was deliberately uttered at the moment violence was about to begin, both as a benediction for cows and as a verbal discouragement or prohibition of the impending act of injury.