Shloka 20

Devanagari script

भिन्ना हि सेना नृपते दुःसंधेया भवत्युत । मौला हि पुरुषव्यात्र किमु नानासमुत्थिता:,“नरेश्वर! पुरुषसिंह! एक बार सेनामें फ़ूट पड़ जानेपर उसमें पुनः: मेल कराना कठिन हो जाता है। उस दशामें मौलिक (पीढ़ियोंसे चले आनेवाले) सेवक भी हाथसे निकल जाते हैं। फिर जो भिन्न-भिन्न स्थानोंके लोग किसी एक कार्यके लिये उद्यत होकर एकत्र हुए हों, उनकी तो बात ही कया है?

Transliteration

bhinnā hi senā nṛpate duḥsandheyā bhavaty uta | maulā hi puruṣavyāghra kimu nānāsamutthitāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O king, once an army is split by internal dissension, it becomes exceedingly hard to reunite. In such a condition even hereditary, long-established retainers slip out of one’s control—how much more so those who have come together from many different places, gathered only for a single purpose.”

Word by Word

भिन्नाsplit, divided

हिindeed, for

सेनाarmy

नृपतेO king

दुःसंधेयाhard to reunite/reconcile

भवतिbecomes

उतalso, moreover

मौलाःhereditary, original (retainers)

हिindeed, for

पुरुषव्याघ्रO tiger among men

किमुhow much more (then)

नानासमुत्थिताःarisen from various places/origins

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

nṛpati (the king addressed, i.e., Dhritarashtra in context)

senā (army)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that political and military strength depends on cohesion: once factionalism fractures an army, reconciliation is extremely difficult, and loyalty—especially among even long-standing retainers—becomes unreliable; therefore a ruler must prevent internal splits before they occur.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva, Bhishma is giving strategic and ethical counsel to the Kuru king, warning about the dangers of internal discord in the forces and the instability of alliances, especially when troops are a coalition drawn from many regions rather than bound by inherited loyalty.