Shloka 69
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
दूतसंव्यवहाराश्व निष्परीक्षाश्व मानवा: । प्राणिहिंसाप्रवृत्ता श्व ते वै निरयगामिन:
dūtasaṁvyavahārāś ca niṣparīkṣāś ca mānavāḥ | prāṇihiṁsāpravṛttāś ca te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: Jene Männer, die das Amt des Boten ohne Urteilsvermögen übernehmen—unfähig, Person oder Lage recht zu prüfen—und die fortwährend Lebewesen schädigen, sind ohne Zweifel der Hölle verfallen. Der Vers warnt, dass öffentliche Aufgaben wie Diplomatie oder Vermittlung moralische Prüfung und Gewaltlosigkeit verlangen; werden sie leichtfertig und grausam ausgeübt, führen sie zu schwerem sittlichem Absturz.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Roles involving communication and negotiation (like a messenger) require careful discernment and moral responsibility; those who act without proper scrutiny and who habitually harm living beings incur severe karmic consequences, described here as becoming hell-bound.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing on dharma and proper conduct. Here he condemns indiscriminate, unexamined conduct—especially by those acting as envoys—and links persistent violence toward living beings with a fall into niraya (hell).