Shloka 58
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
Devanagari script
धारणाद् धर्ममित्याहुर्धर्मों धारयते प्रजा: । यत् स्यथाद् धारणसंयुक्त स धर्म इति निश्चय:
Transliteration
dhāraṇād dharmam ity āhur dharmo dhārayate prajāḥ | yat syād dhāraṇa-saṃyuktaṃ sa dharma iti niścayaḥ ||
Translation
人们说之所以称为“达摩”（dharma），是因为它能扶持维系。达摩扶持众民。因此，凡与“扶持”相应者——即能维持生命、护佑一切有情众生者——必定就是达摩。这正是诸《法论》（dharma-śāstra）所确立的定论。
Word by Word
{'dhāraṇāt''from upholding, sustaining, supporting (ablative of dhāraṇā)', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma
{'dhāraṇāt':
that which sustains', 'iti''thus
that which sustains', 'iti':
as said', 'āhuḥ''they say
as said', 'āhuḥ':
they declare', 'dhārayate''upholds, supports, sustains', 'prajāḥ': 'creatures
they declare', 'dhārayate':
people', 'yat''whatever
people', 'yat':
that which', 'syāt''may be
that which', 'syāt':
is (optative/possibility sense)', 'dhāraṇa-saṃyuktam''connected with sustaining/upholding
is (optative/possibility sense)', 'dhāraṇa-saṃyuktam':
conducive to preservation (especially of life)', 'saḥ''that', 'niścayaḥ': 'certainty
conducive to preservation (especially of life)', 'saḥ':
Speaker
वायुदेव उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
Vāyudeva (the Wind-god)P
prajāḥ (the people/creatures)Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Educational Q&A
Dharma is defined by its function of ‘upholding’—it sustains society and living beings. Actions and principles that preserve and support life are affirmed as dharma.
Vāyudeva speaks as an authority figure, offering a dharma-śāstra style definition of dharma to guide ethical judgment amid the pressures of conflict and decision-making.