Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 53
अवराणां समानानां शिष्याणां च समाचरेत् । पापमाचक्षते नित्यं हृदयं पापकर्मिण:
avarāṇāṁ samānānāṁ śiṣyāṇāṁ ca samācaret | pāpam ācakṣate nityaṁ hṛdayaṁ pāpakarmiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: Al tratar con los de condición inferior, con los iguales y aun con los discípulos, puede usarse un trato familiar sin falta. Pero el hombre que obra con pecado es delatado sin cesar por su propio corazón: su disposición interior revela su culpa aunque sus palabras pretendan ocultarla.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Proper social conduct includes knowing when informal address is acceptable—toward juniors, equals, and students it is not inherently improper. More deeply, moral character cannot be fully masked: a sinful person’s inner heart/mind continually discloses his wrongdoing through attitude and behavior.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he links etiquette in forms of address with a broader ethical point: inner disposition (hṛdaya) is a reliable indicator of virtue or vice.