Shloka 11
नृशंस-लक्षणनिर्णयः | Determining the Marks of Cruel Conduct
Nṛśaṃsa
वैरं न कुर्वीत नरो दुर्बुद्धिर्बुद्धिजीविना । बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतो याति तृणेष्विव हुताशन:
vairaṁ na kurvīta naro durbuddhir buddhijīvinā | buddhiḥ buddhimato yāti tṛṇeṣv iva hutāśanaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ang hangal ay hindi dapat makipagkaaway sa taong nabubuhay sa karunungan. Sapagkat ang talino ng marurunong ay kumakalat sa lahat ng dako—gaya ng apoy na mabilis lumaganap sa tuyong damo—na lampas sa inaakala ng hangal.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not cultivate enmity with a truly wise person: their discernment, influence, and capacity to respond extends widely and swiftly, so hostility toward them is both unethical and self-destructive.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct after the war, Bhishma delivers practical moral counsel, warning against provoking the wise and illustrating their far-reaching intelligence through the image of fire spreading through dry grass.