Shloka 22
Gaṇānāṃ Vṛttiḥ — On the Sustenance and Cohesion of Assemblies
Gaṇa-nīti
क्रोधो भेदो भयं दण्ड: कर्षणं निग्रहो वध: । नयत्यरिवशं सद्यो गणान् भरतसत्तम
bhīṣma uvāca | krodho bhedo bhayaṃ daṇḍaḥ karṣaṇaṃ nigraho vadhaḥ | nayaty-arivaśaṃ sadyo gaṇān bharatasattama ||
Bhishma dijo: «¡Oh, el mejor de los Bharatas! La ira, la división en facciones, el miedo, la fuerza punitiva, el afán de debilitar y arrastrar hacia abajo a los demás, la coerción y el sometimiento, e incluso el matar—cuando tales tendencias surgen dentro de una confederación o república, entregan pronto a su pueblo al poder de los enemigos.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a polity—especially a collective body like a gaṇa—collapses from within when it becomes ruled by anger, factionalism, fear, and coercive violence; such internal vices swiftly make it vulnerable to external enemies.
In the Shanti Parva instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma is explaining principles of governance and social stability, warning that internal discord and harsh coercion in a republic or assembly-state quickly results in subjugation by hostile powers.