Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 5
Dvaipāyana–Kīṭa Saṃvāda: Karmic Memory, Fear of Death, and Embodied Pleasure
यथा सर्वश्षतुष्पाद वै त्रिभि: पादैर्न तिष्ठति । तथैवेयं महीपाल कारणै: प्रोच्यते त्रिभि:
yathā sarvaś catuṣpād vai tribhiḥ pādair na tiṣṭhati | tathaiveyaṃ mahīpāla kāraṇaiḥ procyate tribhiḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “O hari! Kung paanong ang nilalang na may apat na paa ay hindi makatatayo nang matatag sa tatlong paa lamang, gayon din, ang ahimsa na pinananatili o ipinapaliwanag sa tatlong saligan lamang ay hindi matatawag na ganap na di-karahasan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is not truly complete if it is upheld or justified by only a partial set of reasons or supports; like a four-footed animal needing all four legs to stand, non-violence must rest on a full foundation to be called genuine.
Bhishma is instructing the king (Yudhishthira) in ethical and dharmic principles. He uses a simple analogy—an animal cannot stand on three legs—to emphasize that a moral principle like ahiṃsā cannot be considered fully established when supported by only three factors.