Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 69
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
दूतसंव्यवहाराश्व निष्परीक्षाश्व मानवा: । प्राणिहिंसाप्रवृत्ता श्व ते वै निरयगामिन:
dūtasaṁvyavahārāś ca niṣparīkṣāś ca mānavāḥ | prāṇihiṁsāpravṛttāś ca te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Ces hommes qui entreprennent le métier de messagers sans discernement—incapables d’examiner correctement une personne ou une situation—et qui s’adonnent sans cesse à nuire aux êtres vivants, sont assurément voués à l’enfer. Le vers avertit que des fonctions publiques telles que la diplomatie ou la médiation exigent un examen moral et la non-violence ; exercées avec imprudence et cruauté, elles mènent à une lourde déchéance éthique.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Roles involving communication and negotiation (like a messenger) require careful discernment and moral responsibility; those who act without proper scrutiny and who habitually harm living beings incur severe karmic consequences, described here as becoming hell-bound.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing on dharma and proper conduct. Here he condemns indiscriminate, unexamined conduct—especially by those acting as envoys—and links persistent violence toward living beings with a fall into niraya (hell).