Shloka 13
Indra–Mataṅga Saṃvāda: On the rarity and responsibilities of Brāhmaṇya (इन्द्र-मतङ्ग संवादः)
अयं तु पापप्रकृतिर्बाले न कुरुते दयाम् | स्वयोनिं मानयत्येष भावो भावं नियच्छति
ayaṁ tu pāpaprakṛtir bāle na kurute dayām | svayoniṁ mānayaty eṣa bhāvo bhāvaṁ niyacchati ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Celui-ci est d’une nature pécheresse ; voilà pourquoi il n’éprouve aucune compassion pour l’enfant. Par un tel forfait, il ne fait qu’accroître la renommée de sa propre naissance de Caṇḍāla. En vérité, la nature innée gouverne les mouvements de l’esprit. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma emphasizes that a person’s ingrained disposition (bhāva/prakṛti) strongly shapes and governs mental impulses and ethical behavior; lack of compassion reveals a corrupt nature and leads to further moral degradation.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma, he comments on a cruel individual who shows no mercy to a child, interpreting this act as evidence of a sinful temperament and as conduct that reinforces the person’s degraded social identity.