Shloka 8
अनुशासनपर्व अध्याय ९३ — तपस्, सदोपवास, विघसाशन, अतिथिप्रियता
Austerity, regulated fasting, residual-eating, and hospitality
पित्रा विवदमानश्व यस्य चोपपतिर्गृहि । अभिशस्तस्तथा स्तेन: शिल्पं यश्षोपजीवति
pitrā vivadamānaś ca yasya copapatir gṛhe | abhiśastas tathā stenaḥ śilpaṃ yaś copajīvati ||
Bhīṣma said: One who is in constant quarrel with his father, one in whose house there is an illicit paramour, one who is publicly accused (of grave wrongdoing), likewise a thief, and one who lives by a (base) craft—these are cited as persons whose conduct is ethically tainted and socially censured, and therefore to be avoided in matters of trust and dharmic association.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists behaviors and conditions that mark a person as socially and morally unreliable—disrespect toward one’s father, sexual impropriety within the household, public accusation of serious wrongdoing, theft, and disreputable livelihood—implying that dharmic life requires careful choice of conduct and association.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, he enumerates categories of censured persons as part of a broader ethical discourse on character, reputation, and whom one should avoid trusting or associating with.