Shloka 5
Daṇḍa, Ahiṃsā, and Proportional Kingship: The Dyumatsena–Satyavān Dialogue (दण्ड-अहिंसा-विवेकः)
सदाचारो मतो धर्म: सन्तस्त्वाचारलक्षणा: । साध्यासाध्यं कथं शक्यं सदाचारो हालक्षण:
sadācāro mato dharmaḥ santaś tv ācāralakṣaṇāḥ | sādhyāsādhyaṃ kathaṃ śakyaṃ sadācāro hālakṣaṇaḥ ||
尤提士提罗说道：“正当的行为被视为法（Dharma），贤善之人也以其行为而为人所识。然而，究竟如何判定何者真正应当去做、何者不应当去做？又凭借哪些标志，才能辨认出所谓正行本身？”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is often defined through sadācāra (right conduct) and exemplified by the virtuous, yet Yudhiṣṭhira presses for a clearer criterion: how to distinguish truly obligatory action from forbidden action, and what reliable signs define ‘right conduct’ itself.
In the instructional setting of the Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the basis of moral authority. He acknowledges the common claim that dharma is known through good conduct and the example of the good, but asks for a more precise method to judge right and wrong in practice.