Shloka 31

Devanagari script

व्यथयेद्धि स राजानं मन्त्रिभि: सहितोडनृजु: । मारुतोपहितच्छिद्रे: प्रविश्याग्निरिव द्रुमम्‌,वह कपटी मन्त्री यदि गुप्त विचारोंको जान ले तो अन्य मन्त्रियोंक साथ मिलकर राजाको उसी प्रकार पीड़ा देता है, जैसे आग हवासे भरे हुए छेदोंमें घुसकर समूचे वृक्षको भस्म कर डालती है

Transliteration

vyathayed dhi sa rājānaṃ mantribhiḥ sahito 'nṛjuḥ | mārutopahita-chidraiḥ praviśyāgnir iva drumam ||

Translation

Dijo Bhishma: «Un ministro torcido y engañoso—una vez que llega a conocer las deliberaciones confidenciales del rey—se une a otros ministros y atormenta al rey, así como el fuego, al entrar en un árbol por aberturas avivadas por el viento, consume el árbol entero.»

Word by Word

व्यथयेत्would/should afflict, torment

हिindeed, for

सःhe

राजानम्the king

मन्त्रिभिःwith/by ministers

सहितःaccompanied (by), together with

अनृजुःcrooked, not straightforward

मारुतोपहितच्छिद्रेःin holes/crevices filled/supplied by wind

प्रविश्यhaving entered

अग्निःfire

इवlike, as

द्रुमम्a tree

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

rājā (king)

mantrin (minister/counsellor)

agni (fire)

māruta (wind)

druma (tree)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s confidential counsel is a vital safeguard of governance; if a dishonest minister gains access to secrets and allies with others, he can destroy the king’s stability from within—like wind-fed fire exploiting small openings to consume an entire tree.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma, he warns about internal threats in the court: a crooked minister who learns secret deliberations can collaborate with other ministers to distress and undermine the king, illustrated through the vivid metaphor of fire entering a tree through wind-assisted gaps.