Shloka 10
मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्
Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition
विरमेच्छुष्कवैरेभ्य: कण्ठायासांश्व वर्जयेत् । यथा वैतंसिको युक्तो द्विजानां सदृशस्वन:
bhīṣma uvāca | viramec chuṣkavairebhyaḥ kaṇṭhāyāsāṃś ca varjayet | yathā vaitaṃsiko yukto dvijānāṃ sadṛśasvanaḥ purandara |
Bhishma dit : «Ô Purandara, renonce aux inimitiés stériles et sans profit, et évite les querelles qui ne font que meurtrir la gorge. De même qu’un oiseleur habile, appliqué et prudent, imite les cris mêmes des oiseaux et, au moment propice, les fait tomber sous sa main, ainsi un roi industrieux doit, pas à pas, amener ses ennemis sous sa puissance (puis agir selon ce que commande la politique).»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not waste energy on fruitless hostility or loud, exhausting quarrels; instead, act with disciplined strategy—patiently and intelligently gaining control over adversaries rather than engaging in empty contention.
In Bhishma’s instruction on kingship and policy, he addresses the listener as ‘Purandara’ and uses the simile of a bird-catcher who imitates birds’ calls to lure and capture them, illustrating how a king should methodically subdue enemies through calculated means.