Shloka 161
पुनश्च रिपुरद्यैव युक्तीनां पश्य चापलम् । “मित्रता और शत्रुताके रूप तो बादलोंके समान क्षण-क्षणमें बदलते रहते हैं। आज ही तुम मेरे शत्रु होकर फिर आज ही मेरे मित्र हो सकते हो और उसके बाद आज ही पुनः शत्रु भी बन सकते हो। देखो, यह स्वार्थका सम्बन्ध कितना चंचल है? ।। १६० ह ।। आसीन्मैत्री तु तावन्नौ यावद्धेतुरभूत् पुरा
punaś ca ripur adyaiva yuktīnāṃ paśya cāpalam | āsīn maitrī tu tāvannau yāvad hetur abhūt purā ||
Bhishma said: “And again, see how fickle the calculations of policy are: a man may be an enemy today and, on this very day, become a friend—and again, on this very day, turn into an enemy once more. Look how unstable a bond founded on self-interest is. Our friendship lasted only so long as the earlier cause for it remained.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that alliances based on expediency (yukti) and self-interest are inherently unstable: the same person can shift from enemy to friend and back again quickly. Therefore, one should not treat such relationships as enduring or morally reliable.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and polity, Bhishma is advising about the volatility of political relationships. He notes that friendship between parties lasts only as long as the motivating cause remains, emphasizing the changing nature of alliances.