Shloka 78
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
उपाध्यायांश्व भृत्यांश्व भक्ताश्न॑ भरतर्षभ । ये त्यजन्त्यविकारांस्त्रींस्ते वै निरयगामिन:
upādhyāyāṁś ca bhṛtyāṁś ca bhaktāṁś ca bharatarṣabha | ye tyajanty avikārāṁs trīṁs te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: O Stier unter den Bharatas, wer seine Lehrer, seine Diener und seine treu ergebenen Abhängigen verstößt—obwohl sie ohne Schuld sind—der ist gewiss der Hölle verfallen. Die Lehre betont, dass das Verlassen Unschuldiger, die auf Schutz und geschuldete Dankbarkeit angewiesen sind, ein schwerer Bruch des Dharma ist.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One must not abandon those who are blameless yet bound to oneself by obligation—teachers who gave instruction, servants who served, and devoted dependents who relied on one’s protection. Ingratitude and neglect of the innocent are treated as serious adharma with grave karmic results.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he warns that rejecting one’s preceptor, attendants, or loyal followers without any fault on their part leads to a hellish destiny, reinforcing the king’s duty to uphold relationships of responsibility.