Shloka 17
Jaitrya-nimitta: Signs of Prospective Victory and the Priority of Conciliation (जयलक्षण-निमित्त तथा सान्त्व-प्रधान नीति)
युधिष्ठिर! विशाल चतुरंगिणी सेना एकत्र कर लेनेके बाद भी तुम्हें पहले सामनीतिके द्वारा शत्रुसे सन्धि करनेका ही प्रयास करना चाहिये। यदि वह सफल न हो तो युद्धके लिये प्रयत्न करना उचित है ।।
Yudhiṣṭhira! viśālāṃ caturaṅgiṇīṃ senām ekatra kṛtvāpi tvaṃ pūrvaṃ sāmnītyā śatrunā saha sandhiṃ kartum eva prayatethāḥ. yadi sa na sidhyet, tato yuddhāya prayatnaḥ kartum ucitaḥ. jaghanya eṣa vijayo yad yuddha-nāma, Bhārata. yādṛcchiko yudhi jayo daivo veti vicāraṇam, Bharatanandana; yuddhena yo jayaḥ prāpyate sa nīca eva mataḥ. yuddha-jayaḥ sahasā prāpnoti vā daiva-icchayā; asya pūrvaniścayo na vidyate.
Bhishma said: “Yudhishthira, even after assembling a vast fourfold army, you should first strive to make peace with the enemy through prudent statecraft. If that does not succeed, then it is proper to exert yourself for war. For this kind of victory—called victory through war—is regarded as the lowest. Victory in battle comes either by sheer chance or by the will of fate; it remains a matter for reflection, O delight of the Bharatas, and cannot be fixed with certainty beforehand.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even with overwhelming military strength, a ruler should first pursue peace through diplomacy (sāma-nīti and sandhi). War is a last resort, and victory gained through war is ethically inferior because it depends heavily on chance and fate rather than stable, predictable righteousness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship and conduct, Bhīṣma counsels Yudhiṣṭhira on state policy: attempt reconciliation and treaty-making first; only if peace fails should one proceed to war, recognizing the uncertainty and moral cost of battlefield victory.