Shloka 18
सूक्ष्मभूत-भूतात्मविज्ञानम्
Knowing the subtle principle and the bhūtātman through yoga
जिसे सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंसे अभय प्राप्त है तथा जिसकी ओरसे किसी भी प्राणीको कोई भय नहीं है, उस मोहमुक्त पुरुषको किसीसे भी भय नहीं होता ।।
vyāsa uvāca | yasya sarvabhūtebhyo 'bhayaṃ prāptaṃ yasya ca sarvabhūtebhyo na bhayaṃ bhavati, tasya mohavimuktasya puruṣasya kutaścid api na bhayaṃ bhavati || yathā nāgapade 'nyāni padāni padagāminām | sarvāṇy evāpidhīyante padjātāni kuñjare || evaṃ sarvo dharmo 'rthaś ca ahiṃsāyām antarbhavati | yo hi na hiṃsati kaṃcit sa sadā amṛto bhūtvā nivāsati ||
Wika ni Vyāsa: Ang taong pinanggagalingan ng kawalang-takot ng lahat ng nilalang, at na mula sa kanya’y walang nilalang ang natatakot—ang taong iyon, napalaya sa kamangmangan, ay walang kinatatakutan kaninuman. Gaya ng lahat ng bakas ng mga nilalang na lumalakad sa paa ay natatakpan at nasasaklaw sa bakas ng paa ng elepante, gayon din ang buong dharma at buong artha ay nakapaloob sa ahimsa (hindi pananakit). Ang hindi nananakit kaninuman ay nananahan magpakailanman na parang “di-namamatay”—malaya sa gapos ng paulit-ulit na kapanganakan at kamatayan.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Non-violence (ahiṃsā) is presented as the comprehensive root of ethical life: it gathers within itself the aims of dharma (righteousness) and artha (well-being). A person who gives fearlessness to all beings, harming none, becomes inwardly fearless and moves toward ‘deathlessness’—freedom from saṃsāra.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers a moral instruction emphasizing ahiṃsā. He uses a vivid simile—other footprints disappearing within an elephant’s footprint—to argue that diverse virtues and practical goods are ultimately contained within the single principle of non-harm.