Shloka 16

अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः

Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal

Devanagari script

न विश्वसेच्च नृपतिर्न चात्यर्थ च विश्वसेत्‌ । षाड्गुण्यगुणदोषांश्न नित्यं बुद्धघावलोकयेत्‌,राजा किसीपर भी विश्वास न करे। विश्वसनीय व्यक्तिका भी अत्यन्त विश्वास न करे। राजनीतिके छः: गुण होते हैं--सन्धि, विग्रह, यान, आसन, द्वैधीभाव और समाश्रय-। इन सबके गुण-दोषोंका अपनी बुद्धिद्वारा सदा निरीक्षण करे

Transliteration

na viśvasec ca nṛpatir na cātyarthaṃ ca viśvaset | ṣāḍguṇya-guṇa-doṣāṃś ca nityaṃ buddhyāvalokayet ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: «لا ينبغي للملك أن يكون شديد الارتياب في كل أحد، ولا أن يفرط في الثقة، حتى بمن يُوثَق به. وعليه أن يداوم بعقلٍ جليّ على فحص محاسن ومساوئ التدابير الستة في سياسة المُلك: الصلح، والحرب، والمسير للحملة، واللبث في الموضع، واتباع سياسة مزدوجة، وطلب الملجأ أو التحالف؛ لكي يُساق الحكم بتمييزٍ حصيف لا بدافع الهوى.»

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'viśvaset': 'should trust (optative of √viśvas)', 'nṛpatiḥ': 'king, ruler', 'na ca': 'and not', 'atyartham': 'excessively, to an extreme degree', 'ṣāḍguṇya': 'the sixfold policy of statecraft', 'guṇa': 'merit, advantage, good quality', 'doṣa': 'fault, risk, defect', 'aṃśān': 'aspects, parts, considerations', 'nityam': 'always, continually', 'buddhyā': 'by intelligence, by discernment', 'avalokayet': 'should observe/examine (optative of ava-√lok)', 'sandhi': 'peace, treaty, alliance by agreement', 'vigraha': 'hostility, war, rupture', 'yāna': 'marching/expedition, mobilization', 'āsana': 'staying put, remaining stationed', 'dvaidhībhāva': 'double policy

• outward peace with inward preparation/duplicity', 'samāśraya': 'seeking support/shelter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• nṛpati (the king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Balanced judgment is essential for rulers: avoid both blanket distrust and blind trust, and continually assess the benefits and risks of the six diplomatic-strategic options (ṣāḍguṇya) before acting.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rāja-dharma, Bhishma advises the king on practical governance, emphasizing careful evaluation of policy choices in diplomacy and war.