Shloka 31
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
न भयं क्रोधचापल्ये न शोकस्तेषु विद्यते | न धर्मध्वजिनश्वैव न गुहूं कज्चिदास्थिता:
na bhayaṁ krodha-cāpalye na śokas teṣu vidyate | na dharma-dhvajinaś caiva na guhūṁ kaścid āśritāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Among them there is no fear, no anger or fickleness, and no grief. Nor are they hypocrites who parade ‘dharma’ as a banner; none of them resorts to any secret, deceptive form of religiosity.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True righteousness is marked by inner steadiness—absence of fear, anger, fickleness, and grief—and by sincerity: one should not display dharma outwardly while hiding deceitful or secretive, self-serving practices.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he describes the qualities of genuinely virtuous people, contrasting them with ‘dharma-dhvajins’—those who use the appearance of piety as a cover for hypocrisy.