Shloka 11
Nārada–Vāyu–Śalmali Upākhyāna: Enmity with the Strong and the Primacy of Buddhi (नारद-वायु-शल्मलि उपाख्यानम्)
रुधिरस्थेव ते गन्ध: शवस्येव च दर्शनम् । अशिव: शिवसंकाशो मृतो जीवन्निवाटसि
rudhirastha iva te gandhaḥ śavasyeva ca darśanam | aśivaḥ śiva-saṅkāśo mṛto jīvann ivāṭasi ||
ನಿನ್ನಿಂದ ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾದ ರಕ್ತದಂತ ದುರ್ವಾಸನೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದೆ; ನಿನ್ನ ದರ್ಶನ ಶವದಂತಿದೆ. ಹೊರಗೆ ಶುಭದಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿದರೂ, ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ನೀನು ಅಶುಭಸ್ವರೂಪ. ನೀನು ವಾಸ್ತವದಲ್ಲಿ ಸತ್ತವನೇ; ಆದರೂ ಜೀವಂತನಂತೆ ಅಲೆದಾಡುತ್ತೀಯೆ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outward respectability or a show of auspiciousness cannot conceal inner moral decay. When one’s conduct becomes stained by grave wrongdoing, one is ‘dead’ in ethical-spiritual terms—moving about bodily alive but cut off from true well-being and dharma.
Bhīṣma delivers a harsh moral denunciation, describing the addressed person as reeking of blood and looking like a corpse—an image meant to expose hidden guilt and the inauspicious state produced by violent or unrighteous deeds, despite any outwardly pleasing appearance.