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 ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—দেবলোক ও মনুষ্যলোক—উভয় থেকেই বিচ্যুত হয়ে তারা প্রেতের ন্যায়। যজ্ঞহীন, তপস্যাহীন—তাদের সঙ্গে কখনও সঙ্গ করো না।
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.