Shloka 13
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
अल्पेडप्यपकृते मूढस्तथाज्ञानात् कृतेडपि च । कार्यसेवी च मित्रेषु मित्रद्धेषी नराधिप
bhīṣma uvāca | alpe 'py apakṛte mūḍhas tathājñānāt kṛte 'pi ca | kāryasevī ca mitreṣu mitradveṣī narādhipa |
Bhishma said: “O king, one should never enter into an alliance with a person who, even when the harm done is slight, becomes deluded and hostile, and who, even when a fault is committed in ignorance, still bears malice. Such a man serves friends only for his own ends, yet in truth hates them. (Indeed, one should avoid making peace with those of greedy, cruel, deceitful, irreligious, suspicious, lazy, treacherous, slanderous, ungrateful, violent, and faithless character—who abandon companions in danger, revile the Vedas, indulge the senses, break promises, and seek others’ faults.) One who is intent on finding flaws in others is also unfit for alliance. Now I shall describe those who are fit for alliance—listen.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Alliance (sandhi) should be based on tested character. A person who becomes hostile over minor slights, refuses to forgive unintentional faults, and uses friendship only as a tool is fundamentally unsafe; such a ‘friend-hater’ should not be trusted with peace or partnership.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and polity, Bhishma addresses the king and lists the kinds of people with whom one should not make treaties or friendships, then signals that he will next describe those who are fit for alliance.