Shloka 44
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
संतुष्ट: सम्मतः सत्य: शौटीरो द्वेष्पपापक: । मन्त्रवित् कालविच्छूर: स मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति
santuṣṭaḥ sammataḥ satyaḥ śauṭīro dveṣṭi pāpakaḥ | mantravit kālavic chūraḥ sa mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
যে সন্তুষ্টচিত্ত, সজ্জনদের কাছে সম্মানিত, সত্যনিষ্ঠ, বীর, পাপকে ঘৃণা করে, পরামর্শবিদ্যায় পারদর্শী এবং সময়োচিত বোধসম্পন্ন—সেও গোপন মন্ত্রণা শোনার যোগ্য।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Confidential counsel (mantra) should be shared only with a person of proven character—content, truthful, morally averse to wrongdoing, respected by the virtuous, and capable of sound judgment and timing—because political secrecy is a dharmic responsibility, not merely a strategic tool.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma lays down criteria for who is qualified to be included in secret deliberations, emphasizing ethical reliability and practical discernment as prerequisites for access to sensitive counsel.