Shloka 25
Adhyāya 290: Sāṃkhya-vidhi, Deha-doṣa, Guṇa-vicāra, and Mokṣa-gati
Bhīṣma–Yudhiṣṭhira Dialogue
मनुष्य दूसरेके जिस कर्मकी निन्दा करे, उसको स्वयं भी न करे। जो दूसरेकी निन्दा करता है; किंतु स्वयं उसी निन्द्य कर्ममें लगा रहता है, वह उपहासका पात्र होता है ।।
manuṣyaḥ parasya yasya karmāṇo nindāṃ kuryāt, tat svayaṃ na kuryāt | yaḥ parasya nindāṃ karoti, kintu svayam eva tasmin nindye karmaṇi pravartate, sa upahāsasya pātraṃ bhavati || bhīru rājanyaḥ, brāhmaṇaḥ sarvabhakṣyaḥ, vaiśyo ’nīhāvān, hīnavarṇaḥ ālasaś ca śūdraḥ | vidvān akuśīlo vṛttahīnaḥ, kulīnaḥ satyād viśraṣṭo dhārmikaḥ, strī ca duṣṭā | viṣayāsakta-yogī, kevalaṃ svārthaṃ pacati yaḥ, mūḍha-vaktā, rājārahitaṃ rāṣṭram, ajitendriyo rājā ca prajāsu asnehaḥ—ete sarve śocanīyāḥ (nindanīyāḥ) ||
पराशर उवाच—परेषां यत्कर्म निन्देत न तत् कुर्यात् स्वयं नरः। यो निन्दन् स्वयमेवापि तदेवाचरते नरः स उपहास्यतां याति॥ भीरू राजन्यः ब्राह्मणः सर्वभक्ष्यो वैश्योऽनुद्योगवान् हीनवर्णोऽलसः शूद्रः। विद्वान् क्वाशीलो वृत्तहीनः कुलीनः सत्याद् विश्रष्टो धार्मिकः स्त्री च दुष्टा॥ रागी योगी स्वार्थपाकी मूर्खो वक्ता नृपहीनं च राष्ट्रम्। अजितेन्द्रियो नृपो यश्च स्नेहहीनः प्रजासु—एते सर्वे शोच्यतां यान्ति राजन्॥
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns hypocrisy: one should not denounce an action in others while practicing the same oneself. It also presents a moral catalogue of socially and ethically ‘deplorable’ types—especially emphasizing self-control, truthful conduct, and responsibility in one’s role (including the king’s duty of care for subjects).
In Śānti Parva’s didactic setting, the sage Parāśara addresses a king and delivers ethical instruction. He first states a general rule against hypocritical blame, then enumerates examples of persons and conditions considered censurable—culminating in political warnings about a king without self-mastery and a realm without proper rulership.