Shloka 57

Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)

Devanagari script

न हि तेषामहं द्रुग्धस्तत्तेषां दोषदर्शनम्‌ अरेहिं दुर्ह्वदाद्‌ भेयं भग्नपुच्छादिवोरगात्‌

Transliteration

na hi teṣām ahaṁ drugdhas tat teṣāṁ doṣa-darśanam | arehiṁ durhṛdād bhīyaṁ bhagna-pucchād ivoragāt ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “I bear no malice toward them; yet they have come to look upon me with fault-finding eyes. One should always remain wary of a wicked-hearted enemy—like a serpent whose tail has been crushed—for such a foe becomes all the more dangerous.”

Word by Word

• {'na hi': 'indeed not

• certainly not', 'teṣām': 'their', 'aham': 'I', 'drugdhaḥ (≈ dṛgdhā/drugdhaḥ)': 'malicious

• bearing ill-will', 'tat': 'yet

• nevertheless', 'doṣa-darśanam': 'seeing faults

• fault-finding attitude', 'ari': 'enemy', 'durhṛd': 'wicked-hearted

• ill-intentioned', 'bhīyam': 'to be feared

• one should fear', 'bhagna': 'broken

• crushed', 'puccha': 'tail', 'iva': 'like

• as', 'uraga': 'serpent'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• enemy (ari)
• serpent (uraga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even if one harbors no hostility, others may adopt a fault-finding stance; therefore, one should exercise prudent caution toward a wicked-hearted enemy, who can become more dangerous when hurt or humiliated—like a serpent with its tail crushed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma reflects on a situation where others have begun to view him with suspicion and criticism despite his lack of malice. He uses a vivid analogy—an injured serpent—to justify vigilance and the desire not to remain in a place where hostile intent has arisen.