Shloka 37
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
अविद्वानशुचि: स्तब्ध: शत्रुसेवी विकत्थन: । असुदहृत् क्रोधनो लुब्धो न मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति
avidvān aśuciḥ stabdhaḥ śatrusevī vikatthanaḥ | asūdahṛt krodhano lubdho na mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಅಜ್ಞಾನಿ, ಅಶುಚಿ, ಹಠಿ, ಶತ್ರುಸೇವಕ, ಡಂಗುರ ಹೊಡೆಯುವವನು; ದ್ವೇಷಿ, ಕ್ರೋಧಿ, ಲೋಭಿ—ಇಂತಹವನು ಮಂತ್ರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಕೇಳಲು ಅರ್ಹನಲ್ಲ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Counsel should be given only to a receptive and ethically disciplined person; ignorance, impurity, arrogance, disloyalty, boastfulness, malice, anger, and greed make one unfit to hear and properly use advice.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance; here he lists character-faults that disqualify a person from receiving confidential counsel, emphasizing prudence in advising and choosing recipients of instruction.