Shloka 18
Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa
विभ्रमाल्लोकबाह्वानां द्वेष्यैर्वाक्यैरसम्मतै: । कुत्सा संजायते राजॉलल्लोकान प्रेक्ष्याभिशाम्यति,राजन्! समाजसे बहिष्कृत हुए नीच मनुष्योंके द्वेषपूर्ण तथा अप्रामाणिक वचनोंको सुनकर भ्रममें पड़ जानेसे निन्दा करनेकी आदत होती है; परंतु श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंको देखनेसे वह शान्त हो जाती है
vibhramāl lokabāhyānāṃ dveṣyair vākyair asammataiḥ | kutsā saṃjāyate rājann al lokān prekṣyābhiśāmyati ||
Bhishma said: O King, when one is thrown into confusion by the hateful and unreliable words of low people who have been cast out of good society, a habit of fault-finding and disparagement arises. But on beholding noble persons, that tendency becomes pacified and subsides.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Malicious and untrustworthy talk from degraded company breeds a habit of censure, but the sight and association of noble people calms that impulse; therefore one should avoid corrupt influences and seek the company of the good.
In Bhishma’s instruction to the king in the Shanti Parva, he explains how a ruler’s mind can be disturbed by hostile, unreliable counsel from unworthy persons, and how exposure to virtuous people restores calm and right judgment.