Shloka 10
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
दुःशीलो5थाकृतात्मा च नृशंस: कितवस्तथा । मित्रैरपकृतिर्नित्यमिच्छते<र्थ परस्य य:
duḥśīlo ’thākṛtātmā ca nṛśaṁsaḥ kitavas tathā | mitrair apakṛtir nityam icchate ’rthaṁ parasya yaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“凡品行恶劣而不自律、残忍而奸诈、嗜赌成性，常常伤害朋友，又时时觊觎他人财物者——绝不可与之结盟。同样，那习惯性搜寻他人过失的人，也不配立约。如今我将说明适合结盟之人——且听。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that alliances and friendships must be grounded in character: one should never make a pact with a cruel, undisciplined, deceitful person who harms friends and covets others’ wealth, nor with someone who habitually hunts for faults—because such people are structurally unreliable and dangerous.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and conduct, Bhīṣma is advising Yudhiṣṭhira on practical ethics and polity: he first lists the kinds of people unfit for alliance, and then signals that he will next describe those who are fit for making agreements.