Shloka 104
ब्राह्मणस्य पूर्वतरा वृत्तिः — The Earlier Ideal Conduct of a Brahmana
River-of-Saṃsāra Metaphor
ईरष्याभिमानलोभेषु कामक्रोधभयेषु च
īrṣyābhimānalobheṣu kāmakrodhabhayeṣu ca
भीष्म बोले—ईर्ष्या, अभिमान और लोभ में, तथा काम, क्रोध और भय में भी मनुष्य को सदा सावधान रहना चाहिए; क्योंकि ये अंतःशत्रु बुद्धि को विचलित कर धर्ममार्ग से भटका देते हैं।
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.