Shloka 14
Kośa-saṃjanana and Subtle Dharma
Treasury Formation and Fine-Grained Ethics
नायं लोको<$स्ति न पर इति व्यवसितो जन: । नालं गन्तुं हि विश्वासं नास्तिके भयशड्किते
nāyaṃ loko 'sti na para iti vyavasito janaḥ | nālaṃ gantuṃ hi viśvāsaṃ nāstike bhayaśaṅkite ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Il est des hommes en ce monde qui se sont arrêtés à cette conviction : “Ni ce monde ni l’autre n’existent.” Un tel incroyant, voué au néant, devient source de crainte et de soupçon ; il ne faut jamais lui accorder sa confiance.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that denying both this world’s moral order and the next world’s consequences undermines accountability; therefore, a person fixed in such denial is not a reliable object of trust.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira about whom to trust, cautioning against those who reject the existence of loka and paraloka and thus become socially and ethically unpredictable.