Shloka 37
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
अविद्वानशुचि: स्तब्ध: शत्रुसेवी विकत्थन: । असुदहृत् क्रोधनो लुब्धो न मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति
avidvān aśuciḥ stabdhaḥ śatrusevī vikatthanaḥ | asūdahṛt krodhano lubdho na mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
भीष्म ने कहा—जो मनुष्य अज्ञानी, अपवित्र, हठी, शत्रु-सेवी और डींग हाँकने वाला हो; जो द्वेषी, शीघ्र क्रोध करने वाला और लोभी हो—वह मन्त्रणा सुनने योग्य नहीं है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Counsel should be given only to a receptive and ethically disciplined person; ignorance, impurity, arrogance, disloyalty, boastfulness, malice, anger, and greed make one unfit to hear and properly use advice.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance; here he lists character-faults that disqualify a person from receiving confidential counsel, emphasizing prudence in advising and choosing recipients of instruction.