Shloka 110
न वश्चित् कस्यचिन्मित्रं न कश्नित् कस्यचिद्ू रिपु: | अर्थतस्तु निबद्धयन्ते मित्राणि रिपवस्तथा
na vaścit kasyacin mitraṁ na kaścit kasyacid ripuḥ | arthatastu nibaddhyante mitrāṇi ripavastathā ||
Bhishma said: No one is inherently anyone’s friend, and no one is inherently anyone’s enemy. Rather, it is on account of material interest that friendships are formed—and likewise enmities too are bound.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that social bonds like friendship and hostility are often contingent, shaped by artha (interest/advantage) rather than fixed, essential loyalties; therefore one should judge relationships realistically and ethically, not sentimentally.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and statecraft after the war; here he emphasizes the pragmatic basis on which alliances and rivalries commonly arise.