Shloka 37
अविद्वानशुचि: स्तब्ध: शत्रुसेवी विकत्थन: । असुदहृत् क्रोधनो लुब्धो न मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति
avidvān aśuciḥ stabdhaḥ śatrusevī vikatthanaḥ | asūdahṛt krodhano lubdho na mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അജ്ഞൻ, അശുചി, ദൃഢഹഠൻ, ശത്രുസേവകൻ, പുകഴ്ച പറയുന്നവൻ; ദ്വേഷി, ക്രോധപ്രവൃത്തി ഉള്ളവൻ, ലോഭി—ഇവൻ ഉപദേശം/മന്ത്രണം കേൾക്കാൻ അർഹനല്ല।
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.