Shloka 81
उत्पातवर्णनम् (Utpāta-varṇanam) — Catalogue of Portents
उपायविजयं श्रेष्ठमाहुभेंदेन मध्यमम् । जघन्य एष विजयो यो युद्धेन विशाम्पते,राजन! साम-दानरूप उपायसे जो विजय प्राप्त होती है, उसे श्रेष्ठ बताया गया है। भेदनीतिके द्वारा शत्रुसेनामें फ़ूट डालकर जो विजय प्राप्त की जाती है, वह मध्यम है तथा युद्धके द्वारा मार-काट मचाकर जो शत्रुको पराजित किया जाता है, वह सबसे निम्नश्रेणीकी विजय है
upāyavijayaṁ śreṣṭham āhur bhedena madhyamam | jaghanya eṣa vijayo yo yuddhena viśāmpate rājān ||
Vyāsa said: “The victory gained through prudent means (policy) is declared the best. The victory won by ‘bheda’—splitting the enemy through dissension—is considered middling. But the victory achieved by war, through slaughter and destruction, O lord of the people, O king, is the lowest kind of victory.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse ranks forms of victory ethically: the highest is success through wise policy and non-violent means; creating division in the enemy is a lesser, morally mixed method; and victory through open war and killing is the lowest, to be avoided when better options exist.
Vyāsa addresses a king and offers counsel on governance and conflict: he evaluates different political methods of overcoming an opponent, emphasizing that resorting to war is inferior compared to strategic and diplomatic resolution.