Shloka 20
Adhyāya 164: Gautama as Guest; Kaśyapa’s Satkāra and the Fourfold Arthagati; Journey to Virūpākṣa
कृपणान् सतत दृष्टवा ततः संजायते कृपा । धर्मनिष्ठां यदा वेत्ति तदा शाम्यति सा कृपा
kṛpaṇān satataṃ dṛṣṭvā tataḥ saṃjāyate kṛpā | dharmaniṣṭhāṃ yadā vetti tadā śāmyati sā kṛpā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「吝嗇で心の狭い者を常に見ていると、自らの内にも同じ卑小さが生じる。だがダルマに堅く立つ者の寛大な心を知るとき、その卑小さは鎮まり、消え失せる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One’s character is shaped by what one repeatedly observes and keeps company with: constant exposure to miserly, petty conduct breeds the same tendency, while understanding and valuing the generosity of dharma-steady people dissolves that pettiness.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he explains a psychological-ethical principle: the mind imitates what it repeatedly witnesses, and noble exemplars can correct and calm ignoble tendencies.