Shloka 31
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
न भयं क्रोधचापल्ये न शोकस्तेषु विद्यते | न धर्मध्वजिनश्वैव न गुहूं कज्चिदास्थिता:
na bhayaṁ krodha-cāpalye na śokas teṣu vidyate | na dharma-dhvajinaś caiva na guhūṁ kaścid āśritāḥ ||
ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਉਹਨਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਨ ਭੈ ਹੈ, ਨ ਕ੍ਰੋਧ, ਨ ਚੰਚਲਤਾ, ਨ ਸ਼ੋਕ। ਉਹ ਧਰਮਧ੍ਵਜੀ (ਪਾਖੰਡੀ) ਨਹੀਂ; ਕੋਈ ਵੀ ਗੁਪਤ, ਛਲਭਰਾ ਧਰਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਅਪਣਾਉਂਦਾ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True righteousness is marked by inner steadiness—absence of fear, anger, fickleness, and grief—and by sincerity: one should not display dharma outwardly while hiding deceitful or secretive, self-serving practices.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he describes the qualities of genuinely virtuous people, contrasting them with ‘dharma-dhvajins’—those who use the appearance of piety as a cover for hypocrisy.