Shloka 62
Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances
मूर्खाणां पण्डिता द्वेष्या दरिद्राणां महाधना: । अधार्मिकाणां धर्मिष्ठा विरूपाणां सुरूपिण:
mūrkhāṇāṃ paṇḍitā dveṣyā daridrāṇāṃ mahādhanāḥ | adhārmikāṇāṃ dharmiṣṭhā virūpāṇāṃ surūpiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma enseigne que le ressentiment naît souvent non d’un tort subi, mais du contraste : les sots en viennent à haïr les sages, les pauvres envient les immensément riches, les injustes n’aiment pas les justes inébranlables, et les laids jalousent les beaux. Le vers met à nu une faiblesse morale — l’envie et l’aversion envers l’excellence — et suggère qu’il faut se garder d’une telle hostilité en soi-même, tout en la reconnaissant dans la société sans être détourné du dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that envy-driven hatred commonly targets those who embody what one lacks—wisdom, wealth, righteousness, or beauty. It warns that such aversion is a moral failing and encourages steadiness in dharma rather than resentment toward excellence.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma and right conduct after the war. Here he offers an observation about human tendencies—how certain groups habitually resent their opposites—to help the king understand social behavior and ethical pitfalls.