Shloka 10
अविश्वास-निति: ब्रह्मदत्त–पूजनी-संवादः
Policy of Caution: The Brahmadatta–Pūjanī Dialogue
यथैव दंशमशकं यथा चाण्डपिपीलिकम् | सैव वृत्तिरयज्ञेषु यथा धर्मो विधीयते,धर्मज्ञ राजा अपनी शक्तिके अनुसार उसी-उसी तरह लोकोंपर विजय प्राप्त करे, जैसे उद्भिज्ज जन्तु (वृक्ष आदि) अपनी शक्तिके अनुसार आगे बढ़ते हैं तथा जैसे वज्कीट आदि क्षुद्र जीव बिना ही निमित्तके उत्पन्न हो जाते हैं, वैसे ही बिना ही कारणके यज्ञहीन कर्तव्यविरोधी मनुष्य भी राज्यमें उत्पन्न हो जाते हैं। अत: राजाको चाहिये कि मच्छर, डाँस और चींटी आदि कीटोंके साथ जैसा बर्ताव किया जाता है, वही बर्ताव उन सत्कर्मविरोधियोंके साथ करे, जिससे धर्मका प्रचार हो
yathaiva daṁśamaśakaṁ yathā cāṇḍapipīlikam | saiva vṛttir ayajñeṣu yathā dharmo vidhīyate ||
Bhishma said: “Just as one deals with biting flies and mosquitoes, and likewise with tiny ants, so too should be the policy toward those who live without sacrifice and stand opposed to duty—according to what dharma prescribes. A dharma-knowing king should extend his control over the people in proportion to his strength, yet he must also restrain and remove those who undermine righteous conduct, so that the rule of dharma is established and protected in the realm.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must uphold dharma by adopting an appropriate policy toward those who reject sacrificial and duty-bound life; like harmful insects, such disruptive elements should be restrained or removed so that dharma can be established in the kingdom.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on governance: he uses a vivid simile—mosquitoes, biting flies, and ants—to illustrate how a ruler should deal with people who act against prescribed duty and undermine righteous order.