Shloka 18
सूक्ष्मभूत-भूतात्मविज्ञानम्
Knowing the subtle principle and the bhūtātman through yoga
जिसे सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंसे अभय प्राप्त है तथा जिसकी ओरसे किसी भी प्राणीको कोई भय नहीं है, उस मोहमुक्त पुरुषको किसीसे भी भय नहीं होता ।।
vyāsa uvāca | yasya sarvabhūtebhyo 'bhayaṃ prāptaṃ yasya ca sarvabhūtebhyo na bhayaṃ bhavati, tasya mohavimuktasya puruṣasya kutaścid api na bhayaṃ bhavati || yathā nāgapade 'nyāni padāni padagāminām | sarvāṇy evāpidhīyante padjātāni kuñjare || evaṃ sarvo dharmo 'rthaś ca ahiṃsāyām antarbhavati | yo hi na hiṃsati kaṃcit sa sadā amṛto bhūtvā nivāsati ||
毗耶娑说：一切众生由他而得无畏，而他亦不令任何众生生怖；此等离痴之人，便不从任何人处生起恐惧。譬如凡以足行之诸兽，其一切足迹皆为象迹所覆而摄持；如是，一切法（dharma）与一切利（artha）皆摄于不害（ahiṃsā）之中。不害于人者，恒住于“无死”之境——脱离反复生死之系缚。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Non-violence (ahiṃsā) is presented as the comprehensive root of ethical life: it gathers within itself the aims of dharma (righteousness) and artha (well-being). A person who gives fearlessness to all beings, harming none, becomes inwardly fearless and moves toward ‘deathlessness’—freedom from saṃsāra.
In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa delivers a moral instruction emphasizing ahiṃsā. He uses a vivid simile—other footprints disappearing within an elephant’s footprint—to argue that diverse virtues and practical goods are ultimately contained within the single principle of non-harm.