Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तेषामप्यधमा राजन्‌ कृतघ्ना मित्रघातका: । त्यक्तव्यास्तु दुराचारा: सर्वेषामिति निश्चय:,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

teṣām apy adhamā rājan kṛtaghnā mitraghātakāḥ | tyaktavyās tu durācārāḥ sarveṣām iti niścayaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “O King, even among those blameworthy people, the lowest are the ungrateful—those who can go so far as to slay their own friends. Such wicked, ill-conducted men should be abandoned from afar; this is the settled conviction of all.”

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

अपिeven/also

अधमाःlowest, vile (ones)

राजन्O king

कृतघ्नाःungrateful (ones)

मित्रघातकाःslayers of friends

त्यक्तव्याःto be abandoned

तुbut/indeed

दुराचाराःevil-doers, of bad conduct

सर्वेषाम्of all

इतिthus

निश्चयःdecision, settled conclusion

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

King (Yudhiṣṭhira, addressed as rājan)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Ingratitude is portrayed as the basest vice because it destroys trust and can lead even to betrayal and violence against friends; therefore, such incorrigibly immoral people should be avoided and renounced.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma advises the king on recognizing harmful character types, declaring the ungrateful—capable of harming friends—as the worst and recommending that they be kept at a distance and abandoned.