Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 114
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
उद्दीपकाश्न गृध्राश्ष॒ कपोता भ्रमरास्तथा | निविशेयुर्यदा तत्र शान्तिमेव तदा55चरेत् । अमंगल्यानि चैतानि तथाक्रोशो महात्मनाम्
uddīpakāś ca gṛdhrāś ca kapotā bhramarās tathā | niviśeyur yadā tatra śāntim eva tadā caret || amaṅgalyāni caitāni tathākrośo mahātmanām ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—উদ্দীপক পখী, শকুন, বনৰীয়া কপৌত আৰু ভ্ৰমৰ আদি যদি কেতিয়াবা ঘৰত সোমায়, তেন্তে তেতিয়া কেৱল শান্তিকৰ্ম কৰা উচিত; কিয়নো এইবোৰ অমঙ্গলসূচক বুলি ধৰা হয়। তদ্ৰূপ মহাত্মাসকলৰ নিন্দাও মানুহৰ অকল্যাণ ঘটায়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two linked ethical cautions are given: (1) when inauspicious signs appear (here, certain creatures entering the home), one should respond with calming, corrective action—śānti—rather than panic or aggression; (2) more importantly, abusing or disparaging noble, great-souled people is itself a direct cause of one’s misfortune.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on righteous conduct (Anuśāsana Parva), he lists traditional omens and prescribes the appropriate response: perform pacificatory measures if such signs occur. He then broadens the lesson to moral causality, warning that reviling the virtuous is also an inauspicious act that harms the doer.