Shloka 196

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

संक्षेपो नीतिशास्त्राणामविश्वास: परो मत:

Transliteration

saṅkṣepo nītiśāstrāṇām aviśvāsaḥ paro mataḥ

Translation

Lomaśa sprach: „Kurz gesagt: Die höchste Schlussfolgerung aller Lehrschriften über Staatskunst und Ethik lautet: Vertraue nicht leichtfertig — wachsames Misstrauen ist die höchste Politik.“

Word by Word

• संक्षेपः: summary, brevity
• संक्षेपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संक्षेप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नीतिशास्त्राणाम्: of the treatises on polity/ethics
• नीतिशास्त्राणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीतिशास्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अविश्वासः: distrust, lack of trust
• अविश्वासः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविश्वास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परः: supreme, highest
• परः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मतः: considered, held (to be)
• मतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

लोमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• लोमश (Lomaśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condenses nīti (practical ethics/statecraft) into a single maxim: the safest and most effective policy is cautious non-trust—maintaining vigilance and not relying blindly on others.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Śānti Parva’s instruction on conduct and governance, Lomaśa delivers a compact aphorism, presenting what he calls the supreme conclusion of nītiśāstra: a ruler or prudent person should remain guarded and not be credulous.