Shloka 21
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
यो<न्यस्य स्यादुपपति: स कं किं वक्तुमरहति । यदन्यस्य तत: कुर्यान्न मृष्येदिति मे मति:
yo 'nyasya syād upapatiḥ sa kaṃ kiṃ vaktum arhati | yad anyasya tataḥ kuryān na mṛṣyed iti me matiḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Seorang lelaki yang menjadi kekasih gelap orang lain—yang berzina dengan isteri orang—tidak mempunyai kedudukan untuk menegur sesiapa. Jika dia mencela orang lain atas perbuatan yang sama yang dia sendiri lakukan, dia tidak akan mampu menanggung celaan yang wajar kembali menimpa dirinya; demikianlah keyakinanku.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral authority depends on personal conduct: one who himself commits adultery cannot credibly condemn the same fault in others, and such hypocrisy rebounds as unbearable reproach.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma offers a pointed ethical maxim: a person engaged in illicit relations lacks the standing to judge or lecture others for similar behavior.