Shloka 15
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
हन्यादमित्रं दानेन तथा पूर्वापकारिणम् । हन्यात् त्रीन् पज्च सप्तेति परपक्षस्यथ सर्वश:,“जो सहज शत्रु है, उसे मुँहमाँगी वस्तु देकर--दानके द्वारा विश्वास उत्पन्न करके मार डाले। इसी प्रकार जो पहलेका अपकारी शत्रु हो और पीछे सेवक बन गया हो, उसे भी जीवित न छोड़े। शत्रुपक्षके त्रिवर्ग;, पंचवर्गग और सप्तवर्गकाः सर्वथा नाश कर डाले
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
hanyād amitraṃ dānena tathā pūrvāpakāriṇam |
hanyāt trīn pañca sapteti parapakṣasyātha sarvaśaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “One should destroy a natural enemy by means of gifts—by giving what is desired and thereby creating trust, and then striking him down. Likewise, one should not spare an enemy who had harmed one earlier, even if he later becomes a dependent or servant. In the same way, one should utterly annihilate the enemy’s groupings—those of three, five, and seven—leaving no remnant.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hard-edged nīti (political counsel): enemies are to be eliminated decisively, even through indirect means such as winning confidence by gifts; former aggressors are not to be trusted merely because they later appear submissive.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, reports a maxim of strategy concerning how to deal with hostile factions—urging total neutralization of the enemy side, described through numbered groupings (three, five, seven), i.e., their key circles or formations.