Shloka 783
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
धर्माधर्मो गृहीत्वेह सर्वे वर्तामहे5ध्वनि । मैं, यह सियार और तुम सब लोग जो इसके भाई बन्धु हो--ये सभी धर्म और अधर्मको लेकर यहाँ अपनी-अपनी राहपर चल रहे हैं
dharmādharmau gṛhītvaiha sarve vartāmahe ’dhvani |
Sinabi ni Jambuka: “Dito, tayong lahat ay naglalakbay sa kanya-kanyang landas, dala ang dharma at adharma. Ako—ang asong-gubat—at kayong lahat na mga kamag-anak at kasamahan niya, bawat isa’y nagpapatuloy sa mundong ito na pasan ang bunga ng tama at mali.”
जम्बुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses moral responsibility: every being moves through life carrying the consequences of both dharma (right action) and adharma (wrong action). One’s ‘path’ is shaped by what one chooses to uphold or violate.
Jambuka (a jackal) speaks reflectively, addressing others as fellow travelers in the world. He frames their shared condition as moving along life’s road while bearing the mixed realities of virtue and vice.