Shloka 16
धर्मार्थहेतो: क्षमते तितिक्षा क्षान्तिरुच्यते । लोकसंग्रहणार्थ वै सा तु धैर्येण लभ्यते,धर्म और अर्थके लिये मनुष्य जो कष्ट सहन करता है, उसकी वह सहनशीलता 'तितिक्षा” कहलाती है। लोगोंके सामने आदर्श उपस्थित करनेके लिये उसका अवश्य पालन करना चाहिये। तितिक्षाकी प्राप्ति धैर्यसे होती है। (दूसरोंके दोष न देखना “अनसूया' है)
dharmārtha-hetoḥ kṣamate titikṣā kṣāntir ucyate | loka-saṅgrahaṇārthaṃ vai sā tu dhairyeṇa labhyate | (anāsūyā: paradoṣādarśanam)
Bhishma said: Endurance that bears hardship for the sake of dharma and artha is called titikṣā—also termed kṣānti (forbearance). It should certainly be practiced to uphold and guide society by one’s own example. Such endurance is attained through steadfastness (dhairya). (Not noticing others’ faults is called anāsūyā.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True forbearance (titikṣā/kṣānti) is the capacity to endure hardship specifically in pursuit of dharma and rightful worldly aims (artha). It is not passive weakness but a disciplined virtue cultivated through dhairya (steadfast courage), and it serves loka-saṅgraha—supporting and guiding society by personal example.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma after the war, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about ethical virtues. Here he defines and praises titikṣā (endurance) as a socially sustaining practice, linking it to inner steadiness and adding the allied virtue of anāsūyā—refraining from fault-finding.