Shloka 27
Gaṇānāṃ Vṛttiḥ — On the Sustenance and Cohesion of Assemblies
Gaṇa-nīti
निग्रह: पण्डितै: कार्य: क्षिप्रमेव प्रधानत: । परस्पर फूटकर पृथक्-पृथक् अपनी शक्तिका प्रयोग करनेवाले लोगोंमें जो मुख्य-मुख्य नेता हों
nigrahaḥ paṇḍitaiḥ kāryaḥ kṣipram eva pradhānataḥ | paraspara-phūṭakṛt pṛthak-pṛthag ātmanaḥ śaktiṃ prayuñjānānāṃ lokeṣu ye mukhya-mukhyā netāraḥ syuḥ, tān saṃgharājyasya vidvad-adhikāribhiḥ śīghram eva damayituṃ yuktam || kuleṣu kalaho jātaḥ kula-vṛddhair upekṣitaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Die Weisen sollen zuerst handeln und rasch handeln, um Unordnung zu zügeln. Wenn Menschen in rivalisierende Parteien auseinanderbrechen und jeder seine Macht getrennt gebraucht, dann sollen die wichtigsten Anführer unter ihnen unverzüglich von den gelehrten Amtsträgern eines Bundesstaates niedergehalten werden. Und wenn in den Sippen Streit entsteht und von den Ältesten der Familie übergangen wird, wächst die Zwietracht zu einem größeren Unheil heran.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Preventive governance is a duty: wise authorities should restrain factional leaders quickly, because early intervention stops small ruptures from becoming systemic disorder.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises the king on statecraft: when groups fracture and rival leaders mobilize separate power, the state must promptly curb them; likewise, family or clan quarrels ignored by elders tend to escalate.