Shloka 13
Adhyāya 115: On Restraint Under Verbal Provocation in the Assembly (सभायां आक्रोश-सहिष्णुता)
तादृग्जनशतस्यापि यद् ददाति जुहोति च । परोक्षेणापवादी यस्तं नाशयति तत्क्षणात्
tādṛg-jana-śatasyāpi yad dadāti juhoti ca | parokṣeṇāpavādī yas taṁ nāśayati tat-kṣaṇāt ||
Bhīṣma said: “Even if a person gives gifts and performs sacrificial offerings on a scale worthy of hundreds of people, one who indulges in slander behind another’s back destroys the merit of all those acts in an instant.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That ethical speech is integral to dharma: slander spoken behind someone’s back can instantly nullify the spiritual merit gained from major acts like charity (dāna) and fire-offerings (homa).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is teaching moral discipline to the listener (Yudhiṣṭhira in the broader context), emphasizing that inner and verbal conduct must match outward religious acts.