Shloka 27
Satya–Anṛta Viveka (Discrimination between Truth and Falsehood) | सत्य–अनृत विवेकः
न कक्षिदस्ति पापानां धर्म इत्येष निश्चय: । तथागतं च यो हन्यान्नासौ पापेन लिप्यते,पापियोंका तो यही निश्चय होता है कि धर्म कोई वस्तु नहीं है; ऐसे लोगोंको जो मार डाले, उसे पाप नहीं लगता
na kaścid asti pāpānāṃ dharma ity eṣa niścayaḥ | tathāgataṃ ca yo hanyān nāsau pāpena lipyate ||
بھیشم نے کہا—گناہگاروں کا پختہ یقین یہی ہوتا ہے کہ ‘دھرم’ نام کی کوئی چیز نہیں۔ اور جو ایسا سمجھتا ہے، وہ اگر ‘تھتاگت’—راست کردار، کامل انسان—کو بھی قتل کر دے تو بھی اپنے آپ کو گناہ سے آلودہ نہیں سمجھتا۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a hallmark of moral collapse: the wicked deny the very reality of dharma and therefore do not experience inner restraint or remorse. When conscience is deadened, even grave harm—symbolically, killing a truly virtuous person—fails to register as sin in their own mind.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteousness and conduct, Bhīṣma is teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about the psychology of adharma: how sinners rationalize wrongdoing by rejecting dharma itself, and how that denial leads to shameless violence and a sense of being ‘unstained’ despite culpable acts.