Shloka 4
मोक्षधर्मः — स्नेहपाशच्छेदः
Mokṣa-dharma: Cutting the Bonds of Attachment
न चक्षुषा न मनसा न वाचा दूषयेदपि । न प्रत्यक्ष परोक्षं वा दूषणं व्याहरेत् क्वचित्
na cakṣuṣā na manasā na vācā dūṣayed api | na pratyakṣa-parokṣaṃ vā dūṣaṇaṃ vyāharet kvacit ||
Bhīṣma said: “One should not find fault in another—neither with the eyes, nor in the mind, nor through speech. One should never voice blame, whether to a person’s face or behind their back.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
To practice restraint at three levels—seeing, thinking, and speaking—by avoiding fault-finding and blame, whether openly or in private. Ethical discipline begins with how one perceives others, forms judgments, and uses speech.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues his counsel on righteous conduct, emphasizing moral self-governance and the avoidance of disparaging others in any setting.