Shloka 114
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
उद्दीपकाश्न गृध्राश्ष॒ कपोता भ्रमरास्तथा | निविशेयुर्यदा तत्र शान्तिमेव तदा55चरेत् । अमंगल्यानि चैतानि तथाक्रोशो महात्मनाम्
uddīpakāś ca gṛdhrāś ca kapotā bhramarās tathā | niviśeyur yadā tatra śāntim eva tadā caret || amaṅgalyāni caitāni tathākrośo mahātmanām ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Si, à quelque moment, des êtres tels que l’oiseau uddīpaka, des vautours, des pigeons sauvages et des abeilles pénètrent dans la demeure, qu’on n’accomplisse alors que des rites d’apaisement ; car on les tient pour des signes de mauvais augure. De même, outrager les âmes magnanimes attire le malheur sur l’homme.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two linked ethical cautions are given: (1) when inauspicious signs appear (here, certain creatures entering the home), one should respond with calming, corrective action—śānti—rather than panic or aggression; (2) more importantly, abusing or disparaging noble, great-souled people is itself a direct cause of one’s misfortune.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on righteous conduct (Anuśāsana Parva), he lists traditional omens and prescribes the appropriate response: perform pacificatory measures if such signs occur. He then broadens the lesson to moral causality, warning that reviling the virtuous is also an inauspicious act that harms the doer.