Shloka 46
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
मधुप्रपातो हि भवान् भोजनं विषसंयुतम् । असतामिव ते भावो वर्तते न सतामिव
madhuprapāto hi bhavān bhojanaṃ viṣasaṃyutam | asatām iva te bhāvo vartate na satām iva ||
Бхишма сказал: «Ты подобен сотам мёда, что висят высоко на ветви: кажутся сладкими, но несут лишь страх падения. Ты подобен пище, смешанной с ядом: снаружи приемлемой, внутри губительной. Твой нрав действует по обычаю злых, а не по обычаю добродетельных».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that outward sweetness or attractiveness can conceal inner harm. True virtue is measured by one’s inner disposition (bhāva) and ethical conduct, not by pleasing appearances or words.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-focused setting, Bhishma delivers a sharp ethical appraisal of the addressee, using two metaphors—honey at a dangerous height and food mixed with poison—to condemn a character whose intentions and behavior align with the wicked rather than the virtuous.