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 said: Those men who undertake the business of being messengers without discernment—incapable of properly examining a person or situation—and who are continually engaged in harming living beings, surely become destined for hell. The verse warns that public roles like diplomacy or mediation demand moral scrutiny and non-violence; when performed recklessly and with cruelty, they lead to grave ethical downfall.
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).