Shloka 49
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
यथा<5श्रित्य महावृक्ष॑ं कक्ष: संवर्धते महान् ततस्तं संवृणोत्येव तमतीत्य च वर्धते
bhīṣma uvāca | yathāśritya mahāvṛkṣaṃ kakṣaḥ saṃvardhate mahān | tataḥ taṃ saṃvṛṇoty eva tam atītya ca vardhate ||
Bhishma said: “Just as a great thicket, taking shelter of a mighty tree, grows luxuriantly—then gradually entwines that very tree and, overpassing it, spreads even higher—so do dependents who thrive on a ruler’s support come to overwhelm him. O king, your ministers have become like such creepers: nourished by your patronage, they now turn into the very cause of your ruin. Therefore, you should examine and purge them.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dependents and officials who rise through a ruler’s patronage can, if unchecked, entangle and overpower the very authority that sustained them. A king must scrutinize, discipline, and if necessary remove harmful ministers to protect the realm and uphold dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on royal duty (rājadharma), Bhishma warns a king through a vivid metaphor: creepers that grow by clinging to a great tree eventually wrap and surpass it. Likewise, the king’s ministers—strengthened by his support—have become dangerous, so Bhishma urges their purification/removal.