Shloka 21
Adhyāya 115: On Restraint Under Verbal Provocation in the Assembly (सभायां आक्रोश-सहिष्णुता)
विगर्हणां परमदुरात्मना कृतां सहेत य: संसदि दुर्जनान्नर: । पठेदिदं चापि निदर्शनं सदा न वाड्मयं स लभति किंचिदप्रियम्
vigarhāṇāṃ paramadurātmanā kṛtāṃ saheta yaḥ saṃsadi durjanān naraḥ | paṭhed idaṃ cāpi nidarśanaṃ sadā na vāḍmayaṃ sa labhati kiṃcid apriyam ||
Bhishma said: A man who, in an assembly, endures the censure uttered by a thoroughly wicked person, and who regularly recites or keeps in mind this illustrative example, never incurs even the slightest unpleasantness arising from abusive speech. The teaching commends patient forbearance before malicious slander as a safeguard of one’s inner steadiness and social well-being.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To practice kṣamā—patient forbearance—by calmly enduring malicious blame in public; such restraint protects one from further harm caused by hostile speech and preserves dignity and inner composure.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he presents a moral maxim tied to an earlier illustrative story (nidarśana): the listener is urged to keep that example in mind and to tolerate the reproach of wicked people in an assembly.