Shloka 61
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
वाक्पारुष्यं तथोग्रत्वं दण्डपारुष्यमेव च | आत्मनो निग्रहस्त्यागो हार्थदूषणमेव च
vāk-pāruṣyaṃ tathogratvaṃ daṇḍa-pāruṣyam eva ca | ātmano nigrahas tyāgo hārtha-dūṣaṇam eva ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Dureté de la parole, emportement, cruauté dans le châtiment, mise sous contrainte du corps (réclusion ou emprisonnement), abandon total d’autrui, et dommage financier : ces six choses sont déclarées dans l’enseignement comme des vices nés de la colère. Elles montrent comment la fureur, lorsqu’elle n’est pas maîtrisée, déborde de l’agitation intérieure vers les mots, la contrainte, la rupture des liens et l’atteinte aux biens.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Anger is not merely an inner emotion; it manifests as specific harmful behaviors—abusive speech, violent intensity, cruel punishment, physical confinement, permanent abandonment, and financial injury. Dharma requires recognizing these outward forms and restraining anger before it becomes social and material harm.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhishma enumerates concrete ‘anger-born vices’ as part of his ethical guidance, warning how wrath corrupts judgment and leads to escalating wrongdoing in personal and political life.