Shloka 37
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
अविद्वानशुचि: स्तब्ध: शत्रुसेवी विकत्थन: । असुदहृत् क्रोधनो लुब्धो न मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति
avidvān aśuciḥ stabdhaḥ śatrusevī vikatthanaḥ | asūdahṛt krodhano lubdho na mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
Bhīṣma said: A man who is ignorant, impure, obstinate, one who serves enemies, and who boasts; who is malicious, quick to anger, and greedy—such a person is not fit to hear counsel. The teaching is that instruction bears fruit only in a mind disciplined by cleanliness, humility, loyalty, and self-control; otherwise, advice is wasted and may even be turned toward harm.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Counsel should be given only to a receptive and ethically disciplined person; ignorance, impurity, arrogance, disloyalty, boastfulness, malice, anger, and greed make one unfit to hear and properly use advice.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance; here he lists character-faults that disqualify a person from receiving confidential counsel, emphasizing prudence in advising and choosing recipients of instruction.