Shloka 41
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
अग्निना तामसं दुर्ग नौभिराप्यं च गम्यते । राजदुर्गावतरणे नोपायं पण्डिता विदु:
agninā tāmasaṃ durgaṃ naubhir āpyaṃ ca gamyate | rājadurgāvataraṇe nopāyaṃ paṇḍitā viduḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „Eine Festung der Finsternis lässt sich mit Feuer bezwingen, und eine Wasserfestung kann man mit Booten überqueren. Doch wenn es darum geht, aus der ‚Festung‘ königlicher Macht hinabzusteigen—oder ihr zu entkommen—, kennen selbst die Gelehrten keinen sicheren Weg.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Natural obstacles have practical remedies (fire for darkness, boats for water), but political power—symbolized as the king’s fortress—can be inescapable; therefore one should act with great caution around rulers and the machinery of authority.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhishma uses vivid metaphors of different ‘forts’ to warn about the overwhelming, often unavoidable force of royal authority and the difficulty of finding a safe exit once entangled in it.