Shloka 39
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
आसुरश्रैव विजयस्तथा कार्त्स्न्येन वर्णित: । लक्षणं पज्चवर्गस्य त्रिविध॑ चात्र वर्णितम्,शत्रुओंपर चढ़ाई करनेके चार- अवसर, त्रिवर्गके विस्तार, धर्म-विजय, अर्थ-विजय तथा आसुर-विजयका भी कक्त ग्रन्थमें पूर्णरूपसे वर्णन किया गया है। मन्त्री, राष्ट्र, दुर्ग, सेना और कोष--इन पाँच वर्गोंके उत्तम, मध्यम और अधम भेदसे तीन प्रकारके लक्षणोंका भी प्रतिपादन किया गया है
āsuraś caiva vijayas tathā kārtsnyena varṇitaḥ | lakṣaṇaṁ pañcavargasya trividhaṁ cātra varṇitam ||
Bhīṣma said: “Here, the ‘āsura’ (ruthless) mode of victory too has been described in full. Likewise, the characteristics of the fivefold state-constituents have been set forth in three grades. Thus the treatise explains, in a complete way, the occasions for attacking an enemy, the scope of the three aims of life, and the distinctions among victories—by dharma, by wealth/power, and by sheer coercive force—together with the superior, middling, and inferior marks of the minister, the realm, the fort, the army, and the treasury.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma classifies victory by its ethical quality—victory aligned with dharma, victory pursued through wealth/power (artha), and victory achieved through ruthless coercion (āsura). He also teaches that sound governance depends on assessing the five state-constituents and recognizing their superior, middling, and inferior conditions.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma summarizes what has been covered: strategic occasions for attacking enemies, the framework of the three aims of life, and a systematic account of different kinds of conquest, along with a graded evaluation of the minister, realm, fort, army, and treasury.