Shloka 8
Śrī-nivāsa: Traits and Conditions for the Abode of Prosperity (श्री-निवासः)
ये चाल्पतेजोबलसत्त्वमाना: क्लिश्यन्ति कुप्यन्ति च यत्र तत्र । न चैव तिष्ठामि तथाविधेषु नरेषु संगुप्तमनोरथेषु,जिनमें तेज, बल, सत्त्व और गौरवकी मात्रा बहुत थोड़ी है, जो जहाँ-तहाँ हर बातमें खिन्न हो उठते हैं, जो मनमें दूसरा भाव रखते हैं और ऊपरसे कुछ और ही दिखाते हैं, ऐसे मनुष्योंमें मैं निवास नहीं करती हूँ
ye cālpatejobala-sattva-mānāḥ kliśyanti kupyanti ca yatra tatra | na caiva tiṣṭhāmi tathāvidheṣu nareṣu saṃgupta-manoratheṣu ||
„Jene, deren Glanz, Kraft, Mut und Ehrgefühl gering sind; die sich überall leicht bedrücken lassen und wegen Kleinigkeiten rasch in Zorn geraten; und die ihre wahren Absichten verbergen, während sie nach außen etwas anderes zeigen—in solchen Menschen verweile ich nicht.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True worth is marked by inner strength—radiance, power, courage, and honor—together with emotional steadiness and transparent intention. Those who are petty, easily irritated, and inwardly duplicitous are unfit vessels for noble qualities; the verse warns against hypocrisy and uncontrolled anger.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and conduct, he describes the kind of people in whom a higher virtue (such as śrī/fortune or noble excellence) does not ‘reside’: persons of low inner resources who are quickly upset, quick to rage, and who hide their real motives behind a false exterior.