Shloka 6
Kāpavya-carita (कापव्यचरित) — Reforming Dasyus through Regulated Rāja-Dharma
विज्ञानबलपूतो यो वर्तते निन्दितेष्वपि । वृत्तिविज्ञानवान् धीर: कस्तं वा वक्तुमहति,जो तत्त्वज्ञानके प्रभावसे पवित्र है और किस वृत्तिसे किसका निर्वाह हो सकता है, इस बातको अच्छी तरह समझता है, वह धीर नरेश यदि राज्यको संकटसे बचानेके लिये निन्दित कर्मोमें भी प्रवृत्त होता है तो कौन उसकी निन्दा कर सकता है?
vijñānabalapūto yo vartate ninditeṣv api | vṛttivijñānavān dhīraḥ kas taṃ vā vaktum arhati ||
Bhishma said: “One who is purified by the strength of true knowledge, and who clearly understands the means of livelihood—what sustains whom and by what conduct—such a steady and discerning king, even if he engages in actions that are ordinarily censured in order to save the kingdom from peril, who is fit to condemn him?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a ruler grounded in true discernment and practical understanding of livelihood and governance may, in exceptional emergencies, undertake ordinarily blameworthy measures to protect the realm; such action, when guided by wisdom and necessity, is not easily subject to moral condemnation.
In Bhishma’s instruction on raja-dharma in the Shanti Parva, he argues about the difficult choices kings face: when the kingdom is threatened, a wise and steady ruler may need to act in ways that appear censurable, and Bhishma challenges the audience by asking who could rightly blame such a ruler acting for the state’s preservation.