Shloka 7
Śrī-nivāsa: Traits and Conditions for the Abode of Prosperity (श्री-निवासः)
नाकर्मशीले पुरुषे वसामि न नास्तिके साड्करिके कृतघ्ने । न भिन्नवृत्ते न नृशंसवर्णे न चापि चौरे न गुरुष्वसूये
bhīṣma uvāca | nākarmaśīle puruṣe vasāmi na nāstike sāṅkarike kṛtaghne | na bhinnavṛtte na nṛśaṃsavārṇe na cāpi caure na guruṣv asūye ||
«Je ne demeure pas dans l’homme indolent envers l’action juste, ni dans l’incrédule, ni dans celui qui entretient la confusion de l’ordre social, ni dans l’ingrat. Je ne réside pas en celui dont la conduite est brisée et sans discipline, ni en l’homme au cœur cruel; ni dans le voleur; ni dans celui qui, par habitude, épie les fautes des aînés et des maîtres.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma (and the inner presence of virtue) does not abide in a person marked by idleness toward duty, denial of moral order, ingratitude, cruel or thieving behavior, unstable conduct, or habitual fault-finding toward elders and teachers. Ethical life is framed as a set of inner dispositions that either invite or repel dharma.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction section, Bhishma continues his ethical counsel, listing the types of persons in whom ‘I do not dwell’—a rhetorical way of stating that righteousness/virtue abandons those who embody these vices.