Shloka 16
अध्याय १२२ — कृष्णस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛṣṇa’s Ethical Counsel to Duryodhana
नायं मानेन राजर्षे न बलेन न हिंसया । न शाठ्येन न मायाभिलोंको भवति शाश्वत:,राजर्षे! यह पुण्यलोक न अभिमानसे, न बलसे, न हिंसासे, न शठतासे और न भाँति- भाँतिकी मायाओंसे ही सुस्थिर होता है
nāyaṁ mānena rājarṣe na balena na hiṁsayā | na śāṭhyena na māyābhir loko bhavati śāśvataḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O royal sage, this world does not become enduring or well-established through pride, nor through sheer force, nor through violence. It is not made stable by deceit or by the many forms of trickery.”
पितामह् उवाच
Educational Q&A
Enduring social and moral order cannot be secured by arrogance, brute power, violence, deceit, or manipulative stratagems; stability comes from dharma—ethical restraint, truth, and righteous conduct.
In Udyoga Parva, Bhīṣma (the grandsire) instructs a kingly interlocutor, warning against relying on coercion and cunning as foundations of rule, and steering the discussion toward dharma-based governance amid the tensions leading to war.