Shloka 28
Jaitrya-nimitta: Signs of Prospective Victory and the Priority of Conciliation (जयलक्षण-निमित्त तथा सान्त्व-प्रधान नीति)
न हि तस्यान्यथा पीडा शक््या कर्तु तथाविधा । यथा सार्धममित्रेण सर्वतः प्रतिबाधनम्
na hi tasyānyathā pīḍā śakyā kartuṃ tathāvidhā | yathā sārdham amitreṇa sarvataḥ pratibādhanam ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «No puede infligírsele un sufrimiento semejante de otro modo, como sí puede hacerse al pactar con su enemigo y cercarlo por todas partes. Por ello, la guerra debe conducirse de tal manera que el bando contrario quede apremiado por el peligro en todos los frentes».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches a hard-edged principle of rāja-nīti: the most effective way to break an opponent is not only direct combat but strategic containment—using alliances (even with a foe) to obstruct and pressure the target from every direction.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on governance and policy. Here he explains a tactical maxim: suffering and defeat are best imposed by surrounding an adversary through coordinated action, so the enemy party finds no safe avenue and is forced into crisis on all sides.