Shloka 20
Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)
भूमिवर्ज धनं राजा जित्वा राजन् महाहवे । अपि चान्नौषधी: शश्वदाजहार प्रतर्दन:
bhūmivarjaṃ dhanaṃ rājā jitvā rājan mahāhave | api cānnauṣadhīḥ śaśvad ājahāra pratardanaḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „O König, nachdem König Pratardana eine große Schlacht gewonnen hatte, führte er den Reichtum fort – die Erde selbst jedoch ließ er unangetastet. Ja, er brachte auch fortwährend Vorräte an Getreide und Heilkräutern in seine eigene Hauptstadt.“ Die Stelle hebt die Mäßigung des Herrschers nach dem Sieg hervor: bewegliche Güter zu nehmen und das eroberte Land zu schonen, um Schaden zu begrenzen und Ordnung zu wahren, statt das besiegte Reich zu vernichten.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory should be tempered by restraint: a righteous ruler may secure movable resources needed for governance while avoiding needless devastation or dispossession of the conquered land, thereby limiting suffering and preserving stability.
Bhishma cites an earlier example: King Pratardana wins a major battle and, instead of seizing the defeated king’s territory, takes the remaining wealth along with supplies of grain and medicinal herbs to his own capital.