Shloka 17
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
द्वेषक्रोधप्रसक्ताश्व॒ शिष्टाचारबहिष्कृता:
dveṣa-krodha-prasaktāś ca śiṣṭācāra-bahiṣkṛtāḥ | madhura-vādināṃ cāpi hṛdaye kaṭhinā bhavanti | teṣāṃ sthitir ghāsa-tṛṇa-channa-kūpa-samā | dharma-nāmnā jagad vañcayantaḥ kṣudrā dharma-dhvajinaḥ jagal lūṇṭhayanti ||
Bhīṣma said: Those who are addicted to hatred and anger abandon the conduct of the cultured. Even while speaking sweetly, they are inwardly extremely hard. Their condition is like a well covered over with grass and straw—danger hidden beneath a pleasing surface. Under the name of dharma they deceive the world; petty men, bearing the banner of righteousness as a disguise, plunder society.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that hatred and anger corrupt character: a person may maintain a sweet exterior while hiding inner cruelty. Such hypocrisy—especially when done under the banner of dharma—becomes socially dangerous, like a concealed well that harms the unsuspecting.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct after the war. Here he describes the type of person who abandons noble conduct, uses pleasant speech as a mask, and exploits society by pretending to be religious.