Shloka 20
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
तथाविधस्य सुह्॒दा क्षन्तव्यं स््वं विजानता । ऐश्वर्यमिच्छता नित्यं पुरुषेण बुभूषता
tathāvidhasya suhṛdaḥ kṣantavyaṃ svaṃ vijānatā | aiśvaryam icchatā nityaṃ puruṣeṇa bubhūṣatā ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Ein verständiger Mensch, der erkennt, was ihm wahrhaft eigen ist — sein eigentliches Wohl —, soll einem solchen wohlmeinenden Freund verzeihen. Denn wer beständig nach Herrschaft und Wohlstand strebt und emporsteigen will, tut recht daran, selbst die Schärfe eines treuen Ratgebers zu ertragen — zumal wenn jener Freund, unfähig, den ihm widerfahrenden Schaden zu erdulden, mit Nachdruck warnt: ‚O König, dein Reichtum wird fortgeschleppt!‘“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler or aspirant to prosperity should value frank, even forceful, counsel from a genuine well-wisher and forgive any perceived impropriety, because such admonition protects the king’s true interest.
In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct and governance, he describes the case of a loyal friend who, distressed by the king’s impending loss, urgently warns him that his wealth is being taken; Bhishma concludes that such a friend should be heard and forgiven.