Shloka 48

मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्

Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition

Devanagari script

करोत्यभीक्ष्णं संसृष्टमसंसृष्टश्ष भाषते । अदृष्टितो न कुरुते दृष्टो नैवाभिभाषते

Transliteration

karoty abhīkṣṇaṁ saṁsṛṣṭam asaṁsṛṣṭaś ca bhāṣate | adṛṣṭito na kurute dṛṣṭo naivābhibhāṣate ||

Translation

ভীষ্ম বললেন—যে বারবার ঘনিষ্ঠতা খোঁজে ও সঙ্গ স্থাপন করে, কিন্তু দূরে গেলে যেন অসংশ্লিষ্টের মতো কথা বলে; যে কাজ করার প্রতিজ্ঞা করেও চোখের আড়াল হলেই তা করে না; আর মুখোমুখি হয়েও একেবারে কথা বলে না—জেনে রেখো, তার মনে বিদ্বেষ ও কুটিল অভিসন্ধি ভরা।

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'abhīkṣṇam', 'definition': 'repeatedly, again and again'}, {'term': 'karoti', 'definition': 'does, performs'}, {'term': 'saṁsṛṣṭam', 'definition': 'connected, associated

• having formed contact/companionship'}, {'term': 'asaṁsṛṣṭaḥ', 'definition': 'unconnected, as if having no association'}, {'term': 'bhāṣate', 'definition': 'speaks, talks'}, {'term': 'adṛṣṭitaḥ', 'definition': 'when not seen

• out of sight/behind one’s back'}, {'term': 'na kurute', 'definition': 'does not do (does not carry out)'}, {'term': 'dṛṣṭaḥ', 'definition': 'when seen

• in one’s presence/face to face'}, {'term': 'na eva abhibhāṣate', 'definition': 'does not speak at all

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches how to recognize inner malice: a person who alternates between forced closeness and denial of connection, breaks promises when unobserved, and refuses honest communication even in direct presence shows a crooked, harmful disposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma is describing behavioral signs by which one may judge character—especially the unreliable, two-faced person whose speech and actions change depending on presence or absence.