Shloka 46
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
मधुप्रपातो हि भवान् भोजनं विषसंयुतम् । असतामिव ते भावो वर्तते न सतामिव
madhuprapāto hi bhavān bhojanaṃ viṣasaṃyutam | asatām iva te bhāvo vartate na satām iva ||
Bhishma sprach: „Du bist wie eine Honigwabe hoch oben auf einem Ast—scheinbar süß, doch sie bringt nur die Furcht vor dem Sturz. Du bist wie Speise, mit Gift vermengt: äußerlich annehmbar, innerlich verderblich. Deine Gesinnung folgt der Art der Bösen, nicht der Art der Tugendhaften.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that outward sweetness or attractiveness can conceal inner harm. True virtue is measured by one’s inner disposition (bhāva) and ethical conduct, not by pleasing appearances or words.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Bhishma delivers a sharp ethical appraisal of the addressee, using two metaphors—honey at a dangerous height and food mixed with poison—to condemn a character whose intentions and behavior align with the wicked rather than the virtuous.