Shloka 104
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ईरष्याभिमानलोभेषु कामक्रोधभयेषु च
īrṣyābhimānalobheṣu kāmakrodhabhayeṣu ca
Bhīṣma dit : «Dans la jalousie, l’orgueil et l’avidité — et de même dans le désir, la colère et la peur — (il faut demeurer vigilant), car ces forces intérieures troublent le jugement et détournent l’homme de la conduite juste.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights key inner vices—jealousy, pride, greed, desire, anger, and fear—as major disruptors of discernment; ethical life (dharma) requires recognizing and restraining these impulses before they drive harmful speech and action.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīṣma continues a didactic sequence on right conduct and mental discipline, listing emotional states that commonly cause a person to deviate from dharma.