Shloka 12
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
अस्थानक्रोधनो<्युक्तो यश्चाकस्माद् विरुध्यते । सुहृदश्चैव कल्याणानाशु त्यजति किल्बिषी
Bhīṣma uvāca: asthāna-krodhano 'yukto yaś cākasmād virudhyate | suhṛdaś caiva kalyāṇān āśu tyajati kilbiṣī ||
Bhishma said: One who becomes angry without cause, who is irrational, who suddenly turns hostile for no reason, and who—being sinful—quickly abandons even well-wishing friends who seek his good: with such a person one should not enter into alliance. Bhishma is describing the moral and practical signs of an untrustworthy nature, warning that friendship or treaty with such a person collapses in crisis and becomes a source of harm rather than protection.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not form alliances with a person whose character shows irrational, causeless anger and sudden hostility, and who quickly abandons genuine well-wishers; such instability and moral fault make any pact unsafe and harmful.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma and nīti, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira by listing traits of people unfit for friendship or political alliance, beginning here with the type who turns hostile without cause and deserts benefactors.