Shloka 10

आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)

Devanagari script

अथ सम्प्रतिपत्तिज्ञ: प्राब्रवीद्‌ दीर्घदर्शिनम्‌ । प्राप्ते काले न मे किंचिन्न्यायत: परिहास्यते,तदनन्तर प्रत्युत्पन्नमतिने दूरदर्शीसे कहा--“मित्र! जब समय आ जाता है, तब मेरी बुद्धि न्यायतः कोई युक्ति ढूँढ़ निकालनेमें कभी नहीं चूकती है”

Transliteration

atha sampratipattijñaḥ prābravīd dīrghadarśinam | prāpte kāle na me kiñcin nyāyataḥ parihāsyate ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Then the man skilled in sound judgment addressed the far-seeing one: “When the proper time arrives, my intellect, guided by what is right, does not fail to discover a fitting course; nothing that accords with justice is missed or left undone.”

Word by Word

अथthen

सम्प्रतिपत्तिज्ञःone who knows what is to be done / a man of ready judgment

प्राब्रवीत्said / spoke

दीर्घदर्शिनम्the far-sighted one

प्राप्तेwhen (it is) arrived / on the occurrence of

कालेat the time

नnot

मेof me / my

किञ्चित्anything

न्यायतःrightly / according to reason

परिहास्यतेis made light of / fails / is neglected

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

sampratipattijñaḥ (a discerning speaker)

dīrghadarśin (the far-seeing person)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Right action depends on timely discernment: when the proper moment arrives, a dharma-guided intellect should not overlook the just and fitting means to act.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma reports a dialogue in which a person known for practical discernment speaks to a far-seeing counterpart, asserting confidence that, at the decisive time, he will not miss a righteous strategy or solution.