Mahabharata Quotes with Source and Meaning

Quick answer: The most quoted lines of the Mahabharata include yato dharmas tato jayah, "where there is dharma, there is victory" (5.39.7, 13.153.39 and elsewhere); ahimsa paramo dharmah, "non-violence is the highest dharma" (1.11.12, 3.198.69); dharmo rakshati rakshitah, "dharma protects those who protect it" (3.31.7); and the epic's claim about itself, "what is here is found elsewhere; what is not here is found nowhere" (1.56.33).

References are book.chapter.verse in the critical edition of the Mahabharata (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune). Each phrase below was checked in that edition's electronic text. The translations are our own plain renderings. For the Bhagavad Gita, which is part of the Mahabharata, see the separate verse pages linked at the end.

"Where there is dharma, there is victory"

The phrase: yato dharmas tato jayah.

Where it comes: The line ends many verses in the epic. Three of the best known:

• 5.39.7, Dhritarashtra to Vidura. The blind king admits he cannot bring himself to give up his son Duryodhana, "though where there is dharma, there is victory". It is a confession, not a boast.
• 6.2.14, Vyasa to Dhritarashtra, on the eve of the war: fate cannot be held back, and where there is dharma, there is victory.
• 13.153.39, Bhishma, dying, to Krishna. He recalls what he once told Duryodhana: "Where Krishna is, there is dharma; where dharma is, there is victory."

The motto of the Supreme Court of India, yato dharmas tato jayah, takes these words.

"Non-violence is the highest dharma"

The phrase: ahimsa paramo dharmah.

Where it comes: At 1.11.12 a sage who had been cursed to live as a harmless dundubha snake tells the young Ruru that non-violence is the highest dharma for all living beings, so that Ruru stops killing snakes. At 3.198.69 the hunter Dharmavyadha teaches a brahmin that non-violence is the highest dharma, and that it rests on truth.

A note on a popular addition: The second line often added on social media, dharma himsa tathaiva cha ("and so is violence in the cause of dharma"), is not in the critical edition at either place.

"Dharma protects those who protect it"

The phrase: dharmo rakshati rakshitah.

Where it comes: In the forest, Draupadi tells Yudhishthira that she has heard from the wise that dharma protects the king who guards dharma, "but I think it does not protect you" (3.31.7). The line is a bitter question about why the righteous suffer, not a simple promise.

The longer saying dharma eva hato hanti, dharmo rakshati rakshitah ("dharma destroyed destroys; dharma protected protects") is usually traced to the Manusmriti, not to this verse.

"Do not do to others what you would not want done to you"

Where it comes: Vidura tells Dhritarashtra: "One should not do to another what is disagreeable to oneself. This, in brief, is dharma; other conduct comes from desire" (5.39.57). Almost the same verse is spoken by the sage Brihaspati to Yudhishthira in the Anushasana Parva (13.114.8). The next verse there adds that a person who judges giving and refusing, pleasure and pain by comparison with himself attains peace (13.114.9).

"What is here is found elsewhere"

Where it comes: At the start of the epic Vaishampayana says of the Mahabharata: "On dharma, wealth, desire and liberation, what is here is found elsewhere; what is not here is found nowhere" (1.56.33). The same verse returns at the very end (18.5.38). The verse just before says that Vyasa composed the work over three years, rising early each day (1.56.32).

"With arms raised I cry out"

Where it comes: In the closing verses Vyasa laments: "With arms raised I cry out, but no one listens to me: from dharma come wealth and pleasure, so why is dharma not followed?" (18.5.49). The next verse: "Never give up dharma, not for desire, fear or greed, not even to save your life. Dharma is eternal; pleasure and pain are not" (18.5.50). These verses are known as the Bharata Savitri (18.5.51).

Popular lines to check before quoting

• "The greatest wonder is that people see others die every day and think they will live forever." This famous answer in the Yaksha Prashna is not in the critical edition's text of that episode (3.297); it is found in other editions. See Yaksha Prashna questions and answers.
• "Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah" ("the path is the one the great have walked"), also from the Yaksha Prashna, is likewise not in the critical edition's text of the episode.
• Lines attributed to Krishna that are not in the Gita. Many sayings shared as "Krishna's words" are modern. Check them against a chapter and verse in the Gita.

Famous lines from the Bhagavad Gita

The Gita (6.23 to 6.40 in the critical edition) has its own pages:

• 2.47: "You have a right to your work, not to its fruits"
• 4.7 to 8: "Whenever dharma declines"
• 9.22: "I carry what they lack and keep what they have"
• 18.66: "Give up all dharmas and take refuge in me"

Frequently asked questions

Is "yato dharmas tato jayah" from the Mahabharata?

Yes. The phrase closes several verses, including 5.39.7, 6.2.14 and 13.153.39 in the critical edition.

Who said "ahimsa paramo dharmah"?

In the Mahabharata, a sage living as a serpent says it to Ruru (1.11.12), and the hunter Dharmavyadha says it to a brahmin (3.198.69).

Is "dharma himsa tathaiva cha" in the Mahabharata?

Not in the critical edition at either place where ahimsa paramo dharmah appears.

Who said "dharmo rakshati rakshitah"?

Draupadi, to Yudhishthira, in the Vana Parva (3.31.7).

What does the Mahabharata say about itself?

"What is here is found elsewhere; what is not here is found nowhere" (1.56.33, repeated at 18.5.38).

Related reading

• Mahabharata: The Complete Guide
• Mahabharata FAQ
• Vidura Niti: teachings with sources
• Draupadi in the Mahabharata
• Ramayana quotes with meaning

Sources

1. The Mahabharata, critical edition (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, 1933 to 1966); electronic text BORI 1999, via Indology: Adi Parva, Udyoga Parva, Anushasana Parva, Svargarohana Parva. References are book.chapter.verse in this edition.

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.