Shloka 8
उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting
निकृती हि नरो लोकान् पापान् गच्छत्यसंशयम् | विदुलस्येव तत् पुष्पं मोधं जनयितु: स्मृतम्
nikṛtī hi naro lokān pāpān gacchaty asaṁśayam | vidulasyeva tat puṣpaṁ moghaṁ janayituḥ smṛtam |
Bhīṣma sprach: Ein trügerischer Mensch gelangt ohne Zweifel in die sündhaften Welten (höllische Bereiche). Seine Geburt gilt als vergeblich für seinen Vater—wie die Blüte der Vidula-Pflanze, die als fruchtlos angesehen wird.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Deceit (nikṛti/kapaṭa) is a grave ethical fault: it leads to sinful post-mortem destinations, and it renders one’s life—and even one’s birth in relation to one’s lineage—morally ‘fruitless’.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by condemning fraudulent conduct and using a proverbial simile—the ‘vidula flower’—to stress the worthlessness of a deceitful person’s life for family and society.