Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 114
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
उद्दीपकाश्न गृध्राश्ष॒ कपोता भ्रमरास्तथा | निविशेयुर्यदा तत्र शान्तिमेव तदा55चरेत् । अमंगल्यानि चैतानि तथाक्रोशो महात्मनाम्
uddīpakāś ca gṛdhrāś ca kapotā bhramarās tathā | niviśeyur yadā tatra śāntim eva tadā caret || amaṅgalyāni caitāni tathākrośo mahātmanām ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Nếu có lúc nào những loài như chim uddīpaka, kền kền, bồ câu rừng và ong bay vào nhà, khi ấy chỉ nên làm các nghi thức trấn an, vì chúng được xem là điềm bất tường. Cũng vậy, phỉ báng những bậc đại hồn (mahātmā) sẽ đem tai họa đến cho con người.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two linked ethical cautions are given: (1) when inauspicious signs appear (here, certain creatures entering the home), one should respond with calming, corrective action—śānti—rather than panic or aggression; (2) more importantly, abusing or disparaging noble, great-souled people is itself a direct cause of one’s misfortune.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on righteous conduct (Anuśāsana Parva), he lists traditional omens and prescribes the appropriate response: perform pacificatory measures if such signs occur. He then broadens the lesson to moral causality, warning that reviling the virtuous is also an inauspicious act that harms the doer.