Shloka 4
अन्ध: स्यादन्धवेलायां जड: स्यादपि वा बुध: । परिहारेण तद् ब्रूयाद् यस्तेषां स्याद् व्यतिक्रम:,बड़े भाईको चाहिये कि वह अवसरके अनुसार अन्ध, जड़ और दिद्वान् बने अर्थात् यदि छोटे भाइयोंसे कोई अपराध हो जाय तो उसे देखते हुए भी न देखे। जानकर भी अनजान बना रहे और उनसे ऐसी बात करे, जिससे उनकी अपराध करनेकी प्रवृत्ति दूर हो जाय
andhaḥ syād andha-velāyāṃ jaḍaḥ syād api vā budhaḥ | parihāreṇa tad brūyād yas teṣāṃ syād vyatikramaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “At the proper moment, an elder brother should become as though blind, as though dull, and even as though wise. When younger brothers commit a fault, he should, seeing it, act as if he has not seen; knowing it, he should behave as if he does not know; and he should speak to them in a conciliatory way that removes their tendency to offend again.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
An elder should preserve harmony by strategic forbearance: sometimes ‘not seeing’ a minor fault, sometimes acting unaware, and sometimes using wise, conciliatory speech—so that the younger person’s tendency to repeat the offence is corrected without humiliation or escalation.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct. Here he gives practical counsel on household and kinship ethics—how an elder brother should respond when younger brothers err.