Shloka 50
मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्
Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition
आर्टिरर्ते प्रिये प्रीतिरेतावन्मित्रलक्षणम् । विपरीतं तु बोद्धव्यमरिलक्षणमेव तत्
ārtiḥ arte priye prītir etāvan mitra-lakṣaṇam | viparītaṁ tu boddhavyam ari-lakṣaṇam eva tat ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Masaktan kapag nasasaktan ang kaibigan, at matuwa kapag masaya ang kaibigan—iyan ang tanda ng tunay na kaibigan. Ang kabaligtaran nito ay dapat maunawaang siyang tanda ng kaaway.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A true friend is empathetically aligned with you—sharing your sorrow in hardship and your joy in success; someone who rejoices at your suffering or suffers at your joy bears the disposition of an enemy.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhīṣma defines practical criteria to distinguish a genuine friend from an enemy based on emotional response to another’s fortune and misfortune.