Shloka 11

नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct

Nṛśaṃsa

Devanagari script

वैरं न कुर्वीत नरो दुर्बुद्धिर्बुद्धिजीविना । बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतो याति तृणेष्विव हुताशन:,खोटी बुद्धिवाला मनुष्य किसी बुद्धिजीवी पुरुषसे वैर न बाँधे; क्योंकि घास-फूँसपर फैलनेवाली आगके समान बुद्धिमानोंकी बुद्धि सर्वत्र पहुँच जाती है

Transliteration

vairaṁ na kurvīta naro durbuddhir buddhijīvinā | buddhiḥ buddhimato yāti tṛṇeṣv iva hutāśanaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Ein Mensch von schlechtem Verstand soll keine Feindschaft mit einem eingehen, der von Weisheit lebt. Denn die Einsicht der Weisen breitet sich überall aus – wie Feuer, das durch dürres Gras jagt – und reicht weit über das hinaus, was der Tor erahnen kann.“

Word by Word

वैरम्enmity

नnot

कुर्वीतshould make/do

नरःa man

दुर्बुद्धिःfoolish/ill-intentioned

बुद्धिजीविनाwith/against a man who lives by intellect (a learned man)

बुद्धिःintellect

बुद्धिमतःof the intelligent man

यातिgoes/reaches

तृणेषुin/among grasses

इवlike/as

हुताशनःfire

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

hutāśana (fire)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not cultivate enmity with a truly wise person: their discernment, influence, and capacity to respond extends widely and swiftly, so hostility toward them is both unethical and self-destructive.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct after the war, Bhishma delivers practical moral counsel, warning against provoking the wise and illustrating their far-reaching intelligence through the image of fire spreading through dry grass.