Shloka 27
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
त्वं हि प्रष्टा च श्रोता च कृच्छेष्वनुगतेष्विह । श्रुत्वा मम महाराज न संतप्तुमिहाहसि
tvaṃ hi praṣṭā ca śrotā ca kṛcchreṣv anugateṣv iha | śrutvā mama mahārāja na santaptum ihārhasi ||
Bhishma said: “O great king, even when grave difficulties have come upon us here, you continue to ask fitting questions and to listen properly to their right answers. Therefore, you should not grieve here over the fact that a settlement with Duryodhana could not be achieved.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid crisis, a ruler should remain composed and committed to discerning inquiry and attentive listening; such steadiness is a mark of fitness for dharma, so one should not be consumed by regret over an unachieved political settlement.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira after the war. He praises the king’s thoughtful questioning and careful hearing despite adversity, and counsels him not to lament that peace with Duryodhana could not be made.