Shloka 36
मन्त्रश्न वर्णित: कृत्स्नस्तथा भेदार्थ एव च | विशभ्रमश्चैव मन्त्रस्य सिद्ध्यसिद्धौश्व यत् फलम्,सब प्रकारकी मन्त्रणा, भेदनीतिके प्रयोगके प्रयोजन, मन्त्रणामें होनेवाले भ्रम या उसके फूटनेके भय तथा मन्त्रणाकी सिद्धि और असिद्धिके फलका भी इस शास्त्रमें वर्णन है
mantraś ca varṇitaḥ kṛtsnas tathā bhedārtha eva ca | vibhramaś caiva mantrasya siddhy-asiddhau ca yat phalam |
Bhīṣma said: “In this treatise, the entire discipline of counsel (mantra) is explained—along with the purpose and method of policy through division (bheda-nīti), the confusions and risks that arise within counsel (including the fear of its disclosure), and also the results that follow when counsel succeeds or fails.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effective governance depends on sound, confidential deliberation. The text highlights (1) the full scope of counsel, (2) the strategic use of bheda (division) when appropriate, (3) the dangers of confusion and leakage in deliberations, and (4) the concrete consequences of successful versus failed counsel—implying an ethical duty to be clear, prudent, and discreet for the welfare of the realm.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma. Here he summarizes what this śāstra section covers: counsel and its management, the policy of bheda, the internal risks of deliberation (confusion and fear of disclosure), and the outcomes that follow depending on whether counsel is successfully executed or not.