Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तां वृत्ति नानुवर्तेत विजिगीषुर्महीपति: । धर्मलब्धाद्धि विजयाल्‍लाभ: को<5भ्यधिको भवेत्‌

Transliteration

tāṁ vṛttiṁ nānuvarteta vijigīṣur mahīpatiḥ | dharmalabdhād dhi vijayāl lābhaḥ ko 'bhyadhiko bhavet ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dijo: «Un rey que busca la conquista no debe seguir ese proceder. Pues ¿qué ganancia podría ser mayor que la victoria alcanzada por la rectitud—una victoria obtenida por medios lícitos y justos?»

Word by Word

ताम्that (her/that)

वृत्तिम्conduct; course of action; policy

नnot

अनुवर्तेतshould follow; should pursue

विजिगीषुःdesirous of conquest

महीपतिःking; lord of the earth

धर्म-लब्धात्from (a gain) obtained by dharma/righteous means

हिindeed; for

विजयात्from victory

लाभःgain; profit

कःwhat? who?

अभ्यधिकःgreater; superior

भवेत्would be; could be

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

mahīpati (king)

vijigīṣu (would-be conqueror)

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?

Bhīṣma teaches that a ruler seeking victory should reject improper policies and value conquest achieved through dharma, because a victory gained righteously is the highest and most meaningful form of gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the king on statecraft and moral governance, emphasizing that the legitimacy of victory depends on the righteousness of the means used to obtain it.