Shloka 32
Gaṇānāṃ Vṛttiḥ — On the Sustenance and Cohesion of Assemblies
Gaṇa-nīti
तस्मात् संघातमेवाहुर्गणानां शरणं महत्
tasmāt saṅghātam evāhur gaṇānāṃ śaraṇaṃ mahat | jāti-kula-samānatve 'pi na sarveṣām udyogo buddhir rūpa-sampattiś ca samā bhavati | śatravaḥ gaṇa-rājyeṣu bheda-buddhiṃ janayitvā kecid dhana-dānenāpi sarva-saṅghe bhedaṃ kurvanti | tasmāt saṅgha-baddhatā eva gaṇa-nāgarikāṇāṃ mahāśrayaḥ ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—সেয়ে সংঘবদ্ধতাই গণসমূহৰ মহাশৰণ বুলি কোৱা হয়। জন্ম আৰু কুলত সমতা থাকিব পাৰে, কিন্তু পৰিশ্ৰম, বুদ্ধি আৰু ৰূপ-সম্পদত সকলো একে নহয়। শত্রুৱে নাগৰিকসকলৰ মাজত বিভেদবুদ্ধি জগাই আৰু কিছুমানক ধন দি সমগ্ৰ সংঘ ভাঙি পেলায়। অতএব গণৰ নাগৰিকসকলৰ বাবে দৃঢ় ঐক্যেই পৰম আশ্ৰয়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The chief protection of a republic or clan-polity is solidarity: even if citizens share birth and lineage, natural differences in ability and resources make them vulnerable to factionalism, which enemies exploit through sowing division and bribing a few; therefore unity is the highest safeguard.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and public stability, warning that hostile forces commonly fracture republics by creating internal factions and buying influence, and he urges maintaining a tightly bound confederation.