Shloka 8
उपवासविधि-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the Discipline of Fasting
निकृती हि नरो लोकान् पापान् गच्छत्यसंशयम् | विदुलस्येव तत् पुष्पं मोधं जनयितु: स्मृतम्
nikṛtī hi naro lokān pāpān gacchaty asaṁśayam | vidulasyeva tat puṣpaṁ moghaṁ janayituḥ smṛtam |
Bhīṣma dit : L’homme trompeur, sans aucun doute, va aux mondes du péché (aux royaumes infernaux). Sa naissance même est tenue pour vaine aux yeux de son père—comme la fleur du vidula, réputée sans fruit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Deceit (nikṛti/kapaṭa) is a grave ethical fault: it leads to sinful post-mortem destinations, and it renders one’s life—and even one’s birth in relation to one’s lineage—morally ‘fruitless’.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by condemning fraudulent conduct and using a proverbial simile—the ‘vidula flower’—to stress the worthlessness of a deceitful person’s life for family and society.