Shloka 48

मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्

Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition

Devanagari script

करोत्यभीक्ष्णं संसृष्टमसंसृष्टश्ष भाषते । अदृष्टितो न कुरुते दृष्टो नैवाभिभाषते,जो बारंबार आकर संसर्ग स्थापित करता है, दूर जानेपर दोष बताता है, कोई कार्य करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा करके भी आँखसे ओझल होनेपर उस कार्यको नहीं करता है और आँखके सामने होनेपर भी कोई बातचीत नहीं करता, उसके मनमें भी दुष्टता भरी है, ऐसा जानना चाहिये

Transliteration

karoty abhīkṣṇaṁ saṁsṛṣṭam asaṁsṛṣṭaś ca bhāṣate | adṛṣṭito na kurute dṛṣṭo naivābhibhāṣate ||

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Il est des hommes qui, sans cesse, recherchent la familiarité et nouent des relations, mais, une fois éloignés, parlent comme s’ils n’avaient aucun lien. Ayant promis d’accomplir une tâche, ils ne la font plus dès qu’ils sont hors de vue ; et même face à face, ils refusent de dire un mot. Sachez que l’esprit d’un tel homme est rempli de malveillance et d’intentions tortueuses.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'abhīkṣṇam', 'definition': 'repeatedly, again and again'}, {'term': 'karoti', 'definition': 'does, performs'}, {'term': 'saṁsṛṣṭam', 'definition': 'connected, associated

• having formed contact/companionship'}, {'term': 'asaṁsṛṣṭaḥ', 'definition': 'unconnected, as if having no association'}, {'term': 'bhāṣate', 'definition': 'speaks, talks'}, {'term': 'adṛṣṭitaḥ', 'definition': 'when not seen

• out of sight/behind one’s back'}, {'term': 'na kurute', 'definition': 'does not do (does not carry out)'}, {'term': 'dṛṣṭaḥ', 'definition': 'when seen

• in one’s presence/face to face'}, {'term': 'na eva abhibhāṣate', 'definition': 'does not speak at all

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches how to recognize inner malice: a person who alternates between forced closeness and denial of connection, breaks promises when unobserved, and refuses honest communication even in direct presence shows a crooked, harmful disposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma is describing behavioral signs by which one may judge character—especially the unreliable, two-faced person whose speech and actions change depending on presence or absence.