Shloka 23
ततो गच्छसि सिद्धार्थ:पीड्यमानं महाजनम् | योगधर्मविदं पुण्यं कंचिदस्योपवर्णयेत्,इससे तुम्हारा मनोरथ सिद्ध होगा। तदनन्तर तुम्हें कष्ट पाते हुए किसी श्रेष्टपुरुषकी दुरवस्थाका और किसी योगधर्मके ज्ञाता पुण्यात्मा पुरुषकी महिमाका राजाके सामने वर्णन करना चाहिये, जिससे शत्रु राजा अपने राज्यको त्याग देनेकी इच्छा करने लगे। यदि कदाचित् वह प्रकृतिस्थ ही रह जाय, उसके ऊपर वैराग्यका प्रभाव न पड़े, तब अपने नियुक्त किये हुए पुरुषोंद्वारा सर्वशत्रुविनाशक सिद्ध औषधके प्रयोगसे शत्रुके हाथी, घोड़े और मनुष्योंको मरवा डालना चाहिये
tato gacchasi siddhārthaḥ pīḍyamānaṁ mahājanam | yogadharmavidaṁ puṇyaṁ kaṁcid asyopavarṇayet ||
Bhishma said: “Then you will depart with your purpose fulfilled. Thereafter, before that king you should describe the distress of the common people who are being oppressed, and also extol some virtuous man who knows the dharma of yoga. By such a portrayal, the hostile king may be moved to renounce his kingdom. (If, however, he remains unmoved and dispassion does not arise in him, then—through men appointed by you—one should employ a proven, all-destroying medicinal agent to bring about the death of the enemy’s elephants, horses, and soldiers.)”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames a strategy of moral persuasion: first move a hostile ruler by showing the suffering of the people and by praising a virtuous exemplar of yoga-dharma, so that renunciation or restraint may arise. The passage also reflects the tension in raja-dharma between ethical suasion and harsher measures when persuasion fails.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and policy, Bhishma advises how to influence an enemy king: narrate public suffering and highlight the greatness of a righteous, disciplined person to induce the enemy to abandon his claim. The accompanying prose context (as in the provided Hindi) continues with an escalation plan if the king remains unmoved.