Shloka 37
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
नाज्ञातिरनुगृह्नाति न चाज्ञातिर्नमस्यति । उभयं ज्ञातिवर्गेषु दृश्यते साथ्वसाधु च,दूसरी जातिका मनुष्य न अनुग्रह करता है, न नमस्कार। इस प्रकार जाति-भाइयोंमें भलाई और बुराई दोनों देखनेमें आती हैं
nā-jñātir anugṛhṇāti na ca ajñātir namasyati | ubhayaṃ jñātivargeṣu dṛśyate sādhv-asādhu ca ||
Bhīṣma said: “A person who is not of one’s kin does not readily extend favor, nor does one who is not kin offer reverence. Among one’s own circle of relatives, however, both are seen—noble conduct as well as ignoble conduct.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a realistic ethic of social life: outsiders often do not offer the same support or respect as kin, yet even within one’s own relatives both virtue and vice are found. Therefore, kinship alone is not a guarantee of goodness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma continues advising on conduct and social behavior, observing how help and honor tend to operate within and outside kin-groups, and noting the mixed moral quality present among relatives.