Shloka 25
Satya–Anṛta Viveka (Discrimination between Truth and Falsehood) | सत्य–अनृत विवेकः
च्युता देवमनुष्ये भ्यो यथा प्रेतास्तथैव ते । निर्यज्ञास्तपसा हीना मा सम तै: सह सड़म:
cyutā devamanuṣyebhyo yathā pretās tathaiva te | niryajñās tapasā hīnā mā sama taiḥ saha saṅgamaḥ ||
قال بهيشما: «لقد سقطوا من عالمي الآلهة والبشر معًا، فهم كالأرواح التائهة. لا يَجْنَة لهم ولا تَبَس؛ فلا تخالطهم».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should avoid close association with people who have fallen from dharma—those lacking yajña (religious duty) and tapas (self-discipline). Such company undermines one’s own ethical and spiritual stability.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous living, Bhishma counsels Yudhishthira about discerning companionship: those who live by deceit and irreligion are described as ‘preta-like’—socially and spiritually dislocated—and are not to be kept as companions.