Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 20
Cyavana’s Water-Vow and the Ethics of Cohabitation (स्नेह-सम्वास-धर्मः)
आनुृशंस्यं परो धर्म इति तस्मै प्रदीयते । यत्र तत्र समुत्पन्नं गुणायैवोपपद्यते,दया सबसे बड़ा धर्म है। यह समझकर ही उसे धनका भाग दिया जाता है। दया जहाँ भी उत्पन्न हो, वह गुणकारक ही होती है
Bhīṣma uvāca: ānṛśaṁsyaṁ paro dharma iti tasmai pradīyate | yatra tatra samutpannaṁ guṇāyaivopapadyate ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ang habag ang pinakamataas na dharma”—sa pag-unawang ito kaya siya binibigyan ng bahagi. Saanman at sa anumang kalagayan sumibol ang habag, tiyak itong nagbubunga ng kabutihan at dangal ng asal.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ānṛśaṁsya (compassion/non-cruelty) is the supreme form of dharma, and that wherever compassion arises it necessarily produces guṇa—moral excellence and beneficial outcomes.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anushasana Parva), he emphasizes compassion as a decisive ethical principle, presenting it as a reason for granting a person their due share and as a universally beneficial quality in any context.