Shloka 10
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
एकान्तेन हि विश्वास: कृत्स्नो धर्मार्थनाशक: । अविश्वासश्च सर्वत्र मृत्युना च विशिष्यते
ekāntena hi viśvāsaḥ kṛtsno dharmārthanāśakaḥ | aviśvāsaś ca sarvatra mṛtyunā ca viśiṣyate ||
ビーシュマは言った。「誰かに無条件の信を置けば、ダルマも世の利もことごとく滅びうる。だが、あらゆる場で万人を疑うのは、死よりもなお悪く、より破滅的である。ゆえに賢者は、盲信と全面的な猜疑との間の中道を行く。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Avoid extremes: blind, total trust can destroy both moral standing (dharma) and practical well-being (artha), but universal distrust is even more ruinous. Discernment and measured confidence are the ethical mean.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance after the war. Here he offers a practical moral warning about how trust and suspicion affect one’s life, relationships, and stability.