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 ||
Bhīṣma dit : «On ne peut lui infliger une telle souffrance d’aucune autre manière que par un pacte conclu avec son ennemi et en le resserrant de toutes parts. Aussi la guerre doit-elle être menée de sorte que le camp adverse soit poussé au péril sur tous les fronts.»
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.