Shloka 37
न च क्षान्तेन ते नित्यं भाव्यं पुत्र समन््ततः । अधर्मो हि मृदू राजा क्षमावानिव कुज्जर:
na ca kṣāntena te nityaṃ bhāvyaṃ putra samantataḥ | adharmo hi mṛdū rājā kṣamāvān iva kuñjaraḥ ||
Bhishma said: “And you should not, my son, conduct yourself at all times and in every situation only with forbearance. A king who is merely soft becomes a vehicle for adharma—like a tame, compliant elephant that can be driven anywhere.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Forbearance is a virtue, but a ruler must not apply it indiscriminately; excessive softness enables adharma. Effective kingship requires balanced firmness—patience tempered by timely discipline.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma counsels the listener (addressed as “son”) that constant, universal tolerance is unsuitable for a king, illustrating with the image of a compliant elephant that can be misused.