Umā’s Inquiry and the Manifestation of the Third Eye (उमा–प्रश्नः तृतीयनेत्रोत्पत्तिः)
असद वा हसितं किंचिदहितं वापि कर्मणा । रहस्यमरहस्यं वा न प्रवर्तामि सर्वथा
asad vā hasitaṃ kiñcid ahitaṃ vāpi karmaṇā | rahasyam arahasyaṃ vā na pravartāmi sarvathā ||
Bhishma sprach: „Ich habe mich niemals zu irgendeinem unziemlichen Scherz hinreißen lassen, noch habe ich durch mein Tun je jemandem geschadet. Ob im Verborgenen oder vor aller Augen: In ein Verhalten, das heimlich oder offen unschicklich ist, habe ich mich niemals eingelassen.“
भीष्म उवाच
One should maintain purity of conduct and speech: avoid indecent joking and avoid harming others through any action, behaving consistently the same in private and in public.
In his instruction on dharma, Bhishma presents a personal ethical standard—claiming he never engaged in improper humor or harmful deeds, and that his conduct did not change based on whether the setting was private or public.