Shloka 5
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
हितकी बात सुननेवाला सुहृद् दुर्लभ है तथा हितकारी सुहृद् भी दुर्लभ ही है। धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ पितामह! इन सब प्रश्नोंका आप विशद विवेचन कीजिये ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | sandheyān puruṣān rājan asandheyāṁś ca tattvataḥ | vadato me nibodha tvaṁ nikhilena yudhiṣṭhira ||
毗湿摩说道：“噢，国王尤提希提罗，你当专心聆听。我将依事理之真实，为你详尽说明：何等之人适合结盟、修好，何等之人不宜亲近。在友谊与盟约之事上，明辨本身即是一种法（dharma）；因为错误的结交，足以危及正道与国土。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames alliance-making (sandhi) as a moral and practical discipline: one must know, truthfully and clearly, which people are suitable for friendship and reconciliation and which are not, because wise association protects dharma and the stability of rule.
In the Shanti Parva instruction scene, Bhishma addresses King Yudhishthira and begins a systematic explanation of categories of people—those with whom one should form agreements and those to avoid—asking Yudhishthira to listen carefully to the complete teaching.