Shloka 19
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
एवं वै परम धर्म प्रशंसन्ति मनीषिण: । प्राणा यथा55त्मनो5भीष्टा भूतानामपि वै तथा
evaṁ vai parama-dharmaṁ praśaṁsanti manīṣiṇaḥ | prāṇā yathā ātmano ’bhīṣṭā bhūtānām api vai tathā ||
بھیشم نے کہا—اسی طرح اہلِ دانش اہنسا (عدمِ تشدد) کو پرم دھرم کہہ کر سراہتے ہیں۔ جیسے اپنی جان انسان کو عزیز ہوتی ہے، ویسے ہی تمام جانداروں کو بھی اپنی اپنی جان عزیز ہوتی ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ahimsa (non-violence) is praised as the supreme dharma because every being values its own life as dearly as we value ours; ethical conduct begins with recognizing this shared attachment to life.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising on righteous conduct, grounding the ideal of non-harm in a universal psychological fact: all creatures cherish their own prāṇa (life).