Shloka 47
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
नगर और जनपदके लोग जिसपर धर्मतः विश्वास करते हों तथा जो कुशल योद्धा और नीतिशास्त्रका विद्वान् हो, वही गुप्त सलाह सुननेका अधिकारी है ।।
nagara-janapadasya lokā yeṣāṃ dharmataḥ viśvasanti tathā yaḥ kuśalo yoddhā nītiśāstra-vidaś ca sa eva gupta-mantra-śravaṇe ’dhikārī | tasmāt sarva-guṇair etair upapannāḥ supūjitāḥ mantriṇaḥ prakṛti-jñāḥ syus trayo ’varā mahad-īpsavaḥ ||
Bhishma said: Only that person is fit to hear confidential counsel in whom the people of the city and countryside place righteous trust, and who is both a capable warrior and a knower of political ethics. Therefore, the king should appoint as ministers only those men who possess all these virtues—honoured by all, skilled in discerning the temper and condition of the realm, and aspiring to great responsibility. The number of the king’s ministers should be small; at minimum, there should be three.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Confidential state counsel should be entrusted only to ministers who are publicly trusted on dharmic grounds, competent in both warfare and political ethics, respected by all, and able to read the nature and condition of the realm; and the ministerial council should be small—at least three.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on how a king should choose ministers and structure counsel, emphasizing trustworthiness, competence, and a minimal, effective number of advisers.