Shloka 22
अध्याय ८७: कृष्णस्य हस्तिनापुरप्रवेशः
Krishna’s Entry into Hastināpura and Court Reception
पापस्यास्य नृशंसस्य त्यक्तथधर्मस्य दुर्मते: । नोत्सहेडनर्थसंयुक्ता: श्रोतुं वाच: कथंचन
pāpasya asya nṛśaṃsasya tyaktadharmasya durmateḥ | notsahe 'narthasaṃyuktāḥ śrotuṃ vācaḥ kathaṃcana ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Aku tidak sanggup, dengan apa cara sekalipun, mendengar kata-kata orang berdosa dan kejam itu, yang pertimbangannya telah menyimpang dan yang telah meninggalkan dharma sepenuhnya; kerana ucapannya terikat pada kebinasaan dan bencana.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Speech and counsel that abandon dharma become instruments of anartha (ruin). The verse frames ethical discernment as a duty: one should refuse to endorse or even entertain counsel rooted in cruelty, sin, and moral abandonment.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Bhīṣma reacts to Duryodhana’s stance and rhetoric. Seeing him as having forsaken dharma and speaking in ways that lead to disaster, Bhīṣma declares he will not listen to such ruinous words.