साहं धर्म विजानन्ती धर्मनित्ये त्वयि स्थिते । सत्पथं कथमुत्सृज्य यास्यामि विपथं पथ:,जब आप-ेरे पतिदेव सदा धर्मपर स्थित रहते हैं, तब धर्मको जानती हुई भी मैं कैसे सन्मार्गका त्याग करके कुमार्गपर पैर रखूँगी?
sāhaṃ dharmaṃ vijānantī dharmanitye tvayi sthite | satpathaṃ katham utsṛjya yāsyāmi vipathaṃ pathaḥ ||
เมื่อท่าน—โอ้สามีผู้เป็นดั่งเทพ—ตั้งมั่นในธรรมะอยู่เสมอ แล้วข้าผู้รู้ธรรมะจะละทิ้งหนทางอันชอบธรรมไปเหยียบย่างทางผิดได้อย่างไร
भीष्म उवाच
When one clearly knows dharma and is supported by a person firmly established in righteousness, abandoning the virtuous course for an unrighteous one becomes morally incoherent; the verse affirms steadfast commitment to the ‘satpatha’ over the ‘vipatha’.
Within Bhishma’s discourse in the Shanti Parva, a woman’s voice is quoted to express ethical firmness: addressing someone who is ‘ever constant in dharma,’ she declares she cannot forsake the righteous path and turn to wrongdoing.