Shloka 46
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
मधुप्रपातो हि भवान् भोजनं विषसंयुतम् । असतामिव ते भावो वर्तते न सतामिव,आप शहदके छत्तेसे युक्त पेड़की उस ऊँची डालीके समान हैं, जहाँसे नीचे गिरनेका ही भय है। आप विष मिलाये हुए भोजनके तुल्य हैं, आपका भाव असज्जनोंके समान है, सज्जनोंके तुल्य नहीं है
madhuprapāto hi bhavān bhojanaṃ viṣasaṃyutam | asatām iva te bhāvo vartate na satām iva ||
ビーシュマは言った。「汝は高い枝に掛かる蜂の巣のようだ――甘く見えても、もたらすのは墜落の恐れのみ。汝は毒を混ぜた食のようだ――外は受け入れられても、内は人を滅ぼす。汝の気質は善人の道ではなく、悪しき者の道に従って動いている。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that outward sweetness or attractiveness can conceal inner harm. True virtue is measured by one’s inner disposition (bhāva) and ethical conduct, not by pleasing appearances or words.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Bhishma delivers a sharp ethical appraisal of the addressee, using two metaphors—honey at a dangerous height and food mixed with poison—to condemn a character whose intentions and behavior align with the wicked rather than the virtuous.