Shloka 50
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
न त्वेव जाल्मीं कापालीं वृत्तिमेषितुमरहसि । नृशंसवृत्तिं पापिष्ठां दुष्टां कापुरुषोचिताम्
na tveva jālmīṁ kāpālīṁ vṛttim eṣitum arhasi | nṛśaṁsavṛttiṁ pāpiṣṭhāṁ duṣṭāṁ kāpuruṣocitām ||
Bhishma dit : Tu ne dois jamais désirer adopter le gagne-pain rusé d’un mendiant portant un crâne (kapālī), ni la manière de vivre cruelle, la plus pécheresse et corrompue, qui ne sied qu’aux lâches. Une telle conduite trompeuse est indigne de celui qui recherche le dharma et une vie honorable.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns against adopting livelihoods rooted in deception and cruelty—especially those that use the appearance of renunciation as a cover for immoral gain. Dharma requires integrity in one’s means of living; conduct that is sinful, corrupt, and cowardly is to be rejected.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising the listener (Yudhishthira) about proper conduct. Here he explicitly forbids pursuing a fraudulent, cruel mode of subsistence—illustrated by the image of a skull-bearing mendicant—framing it as unworthy and ethically degrading.