Shloka 8
Śrī-nivāsa: Traits and Conditions for the Abode of Prosperity (श्री-निवासः)
ये चाल्पतेजोबलसत्त्वमाना: क्लिश्यन्ति कुप्यन्ति च यत्र तत्र । न चैव तिष्ठामि तथाविधेषु नरेषु संगुप्तमनोरथेषु
ye cālpatejobala-sattva-mānāḥ kliśyanti kupyanti ca yatra tatra | na caiva tiṣṭhāmi tathāvidheṣu nareṣu saṃgupta-manoratheṣu ||
“Những kẻ có ánh khí, sức lực, dũng tâm và lòng tự trọng đều ít ỏi—dễ phiền muộn, dễ nổi giận vì chuyện vụn vặt khắp nơi; lại che giấu mưu ý thật trong lòng mà ngoài mặt phô bày điều khác—trong hạng người như thế, ta không ngự.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True worth is marked by inner strength—radiance, power, courage, and honor—together with emotional steadiness and transparent intention. Those who are petty, easily irritated, and inwardly duplicitous are unfit vessels for noble qualities; the verse warns against hypocrisy and uncontrolled anger.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and conduct, he describes the kind of people in whom a higher virtue (such as śrī/fortune or noble excellence) does not ‘reside’: persons of low inner resources who are quickly upset, quick to rage, and who hide their real motives behind a false exterior.