Shloka 283

Gaṇānāṃ Vṛttiḥ — On the Sustenance and Cohesion of Assemblies

Gaṇa-nīti

Devanagari script

आशभ्यन्तरं भयं राजन्‌ सद्यो मूलानि कृन्तति । भीतरी भय दूर करके संघकी रक्षा करनी चाहिये। यदि संघमें एकता बनी रहे तो बाहरका भय उसके लिये नि:सार है (वह उसका कुछ भी बिगाड़ नहीं सकता)। राजन! भीतरका भय तत्काल ही संघराज्यकी जड़ काट डालता है

Transliteration

āśābhyantaraṁ bhayaṁ rājan sadyo mūlāni kṛntati |

Translation

Bhishma said: “O King, fear that arises from within—distrust, faction, and internal insecurity—cuts a polity’s very roots at once. Therefore one should remove inner fear and protect the collective. If unity is preserved within the confederation, external threats become ineffectual and cannot truly harm it.”

Word by Word

• आशभ्यन्तरम्: internal (within)
• आशभ्यन्तरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + अभ्यन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सद्यः: immediately
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय)

• मूलानि: roots; foundations
• मूलानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• कृन्तति: cuts; severs
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृत् (धातु) / कृन्त् (धातु: कृन्तति = to cut)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (Yudhishthira, addressed as rājan)