Shloka 20
सुभद्राहरणम्
Subhadrā-haraṇa: Arjuna’s Taking of Subhadrā and the Dvārakā Assembly’s Response
अधर्मो वै महानस्तु वने वा मरणं मम । शरीरस्य विनाशेन धर्म एव विशिष्यते,“चाहे राजाके तिरस्कारसे मुझे नियमभंगका महान् दोष प्राप्त हो अथवा वनमें ही मेरी मृत्यु हो जाय तथापि शरीरको नष्ट करके भी गौ-ब्राह्मण-रक्षारूप धर्मका पालन ही श्रेष्ठ है!
adharmo vai mahān astu vane vā maraṇaṁ mama | śarīrasya vināśena dharma eva viśiṣyate |
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“纵使因国王的轻蔑，我因破戒而背负沉重的不义之罪；纵使我死于林野——即便以此身毁灭为代价，护持正法（dharma），尤其守护牛与婆罗门，才是唯一更高的道路。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is to be upheld even at severe personal cost; preserving righteous duty is portrayed as superior to bodily survival or social approval.
In Vaiśaṃpāyana’s narration, a speaker resolves to accept either blame for a supposed breach of rule or even death in the forest, insisting that the higher priority is steadfast adherence to dharma (understood in the received tradition here as protection of cows and brāhmaṇas).