Shloka 20
कृपणान् सतत दृष्टवा ततः संजायते कृपा । धर्मनिष्ठां यदा वेत्ति तदा शाम्यति सा कृपा,सदा कृपण मनुष्योंको देखनेसे अपनेमें भी दैन्यभाव--कंजूसीका भाव पैदा होता है; धर्मनिष्ठ पुरुषोंके उदार भावको जान लेनेपर वह कंजूसीका भाव नष्ट हो जाता है
kṛpaṇān satataṃ dṛṣṭvā tataḥ saṃjāyate kṛpā | dharmaniṣṭhāṃ yadā vetti tadā śāmyati sā kṛpā ||
Bhīṣma said: By constantly seeing people who are miserly and mean-spirited, a similar pettiness arises within oneself. But when one comes to recognize the generous spirit of those established in dharma, that pettiness is pacified and disappears.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One’s character is shaped by what one repeatedly observes and keeps company with: constant exposure to miserly, petty conduct breeds the same tendency, while understanding and valuing the generosity of dharma-steady people dissolves that pettiness.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he explains a psychological-ethical principle: the mind imitates what it repeatedly witnesses, and noble exemplars can correct and calm ignoble tendencies.