Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ये च दोषसमायुक्ता नराः प्रोक्ता मयानघ,निष्पाप नरेश! मैंने जो दोषयुक्त मनुष्य बताये हैं, उन सबमें अधम होते हैं कृतघ्न। वे मित्रोंकी हत्यातक कर डालते हैं। ऐसे दुराचारी नराधमोंको दूरसे ही त्याग देना चाहिये। यह सबका निश्चय है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ye ca doṣa-samāyuktā narāḥ proktā mayānagha, niṣpāpa nareśa! teṣāṃ sarveṣām adhamo bhavati kṛtaghnaḥ | sa mitra-vadhyam api karoti | tādṛśān durācārān narādhamān dūrata eva tyajet | eṣa sarveṣāṃ niścayaḥ |

Translation

Bhishma said: “O blameless king, among all the men I have described as tainted with faults, the lowest is the ungrateful. Such a person may even go so far as to kill his friends. Therefore, those vile men of corrupt conduct should be abandoned from a distance. This is the settled conviction of all.”

Word by Word

येwho/which (those)

चand

दोष-समायुक्ताःendowed/associated with faults

नराःmen

प्रोक्ताःhave been said/declared

मयाby me

अनघO sinless one

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

King (addressed as nareśa/anagha/niṣpāpa; Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Gratitude is a foundational virtue in dharma; ingratitude (kṛtaghnatā) marks the lowest character because it can drive a person to betray and even destroy benefactors and friends. Such people should be avoided decisively.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction to the king during the Śānti Parva, he classifies moral faults and singles out the ungrateful person as the worst, advising the ruler to keep distance from such corrupt individuals for personal and social safety.