Shloka 11
साहं धर्म विजानन्ती धर्मनित्ये त्वयि स्थिते । सत्पथं कथमुत्सृज्य यास्यामि विपथं पथ:
sāhaṃ dharmaṃ vijānantī dharmanitye tvayi sthite | satpathaṃ katham utsṛjya yāsyāmi vipathaṃ pathaḥ ||
“Ta là người hiểu dharma—khi ngài, bậc luôn kiên định trong dharma, vẫn đứng vững—làm sao ta có thể bỏ con đường chân chính mà đặt chân lên nẻo tà?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When one clearly knows dharma and is supported by a person firmly established in righteousness, abandoning the virtuous course for an unrighteous one becomes morally incoherent; the verse affirms steadfast commitment to the ‘satpatha’ over the ‘vipatha’.
Within Bhishma’s discourse in the Shanti Parva, a woman’s voice is quoted to express ethical firmness: addressing someone who is ‘ever constant in dharma,’ she declares she cannot forsake the righteous path and turn to wrongdoing.