Shloka 67
उपदेशदोषप्रसङ्गः (Upadeśa-doṣa-prasaṅgaḥ) — The Risk of Misapplied Counsel
एवं प्राप्तो महत्कृच्छुमृषि: सन्नपसत्तम । ब्राह्मणेन न वक्तव्यं तस्माद् वर्णावरे जने
evaṁ prāpto mahatkṛcchum ṛṣiḥ sann apasattama | brāhmaṇena na vaktavyaṁ tasmād varṇāvare jane, nūpaśiromaṇe ||
Bhishma berkata: “Demikianlah sang resi, meski sungguh berbudi luhur, jatuh ke dalam kesusahan besar. Karena itu, wahai permata mahkota para raja, seorang brāhmaṇa tidak sepatutnya memberi ajaran kepada orang dari tatanan varṇa yang lebih rendah.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma draws a normative rule from an example: instruction (upadeśa) should be given with discernment about the recipient; he states that a brāhmaṇa ought not to teach a person deemed of lower varṇa, because such teaching previously led a sage into grave trouble.
Bhīṣma is concluding an illustrative episode: an unnamed sage, despite being righteous, suffered severe hardship after giving counsel to a śūdra. Using that outcome as a caution, he advises the king (addressed as nūpaśiromaṇi) about restrictions on whom a brāhmaṇa should instruct.