Shloka 144
आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः
Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca
मित्रे वा यदि वा शत्रौ तस्यापि चलिता मति: । “जो मनुष्य स्वार्थके सम्बन्धका विचार किये बिना ही मित्रोंपर केवल विश्वास और शत्रुओंपर केवल अविश्वास करता जाता है तथा जो शत्रु हो या मित्र
mitre vā yadi vā śatrau tasyāpi calitā matiḥ | na viśvased aviśvaste viśvaste nātiviśvaset ||
Bhishma berkata: Entah berhadapan dengan kawan atau lawan, pikiran orang yang berjalan hanya menurut kebiasaan—membuta percaya kepada kawan dan membuta curiga kepada lawan, tanpa menimbang kepentingan diri serta keadaan—tetaplah goyah. Karena itu, jangan percaya kepada yang tak layak dipercaya; dan bahkan kepada yang layak dipercaya pun jangan menaruh kepercayaan berlebihan. (Nasihat ini diterangkan dalam kisah berikutnya: seekor kucing lepas dari jaring seorang Caṇḍāla berkat pertolongan seekor tikus.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches measured trust: do not trust those who are untrustworthy, and even with trustworthy people avoid overconfidence. Blind trust in friends and automatic suspicion of enemies—without assessing motives and context—signals unstable judgment.
Bhishma is giving Yudhiṣṭhira practical nīti in the Śānti Parva. He frames the maxim about trust and then points to an illustrative story: a cat is freed from a Caṇḍāla’s net with the help of a mouse, showing how appearances and relationships can be deceptive and why discernment is necessary.