Shloka 161

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

पुनश्च रिपुरद्यैव युक्तीनां पश्य चापलम्‌ । “मित्रता और शत्रुताके रूप तो बादलोंके समान क्षण-क्षणमें बदलते रहते हैं। आज ही तुम मेरे शत्रु होकर फिर आज ही मेरे मित्र हो सकते हो और उसके बाद आज ही पुनः शत्रु भी बन सकते हो। देखो, यह स्वार्थका सम्बन्ध कितना चंचल है? ।।

Transliteration

punaś ca ripur adyaiva yuktīnāṃ paśya cāpalam | āsīn maitrī tu tāvannau yāvad hetur abhūt purā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Et encore, vois combien les calculs de la politique sont changeants : un homme peut être ennemi aujourd’hui et, ce même jour, devenir ami — puis, ce même jour encore, redevenir ennemi. Vois comme est instable un lien fondé sur l’intérêt personnel. Notre amitié n’a duré que tant que subsistait l’ancienne cause qui l’avait fait naître.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'punaḥ (punaś ca)', 'meaning': 'again

• moreover'}, {'term': 'ripuḥ', 'meaning': 'enemy'}, {'term': 'adyaiva', 'meaning': 'today itself

• this very day'}, {'term': 'yukti', 'meaning': 'device, stratagem

• policy, calculated means'}, {'term': 'yuktīnām', 'meaning': 'of policies/stratagems (genitive plural)'}, {'term': 'paśya', 'meaning': 'see

• observe (imperative)'}, {'term': 'cāpalam', 'meaning': 'fickleness, instability, inconstancy'}, {'term': 'āsīt', 'meaning': 'was

• existed'}, {'term': 'maitrī', 'meaning': 'friendship, alliance'}, {'term': 'tāvat', 'meaning': 'so long

• only up to that point'}, {'term': 'nau', 'meaning': 'of us two

• for the two of us (dual pronoun)'}, {'term': 'yāvat', 'meaning': 'as long as

• while'}, {'term': 'hetuḥ', 'meaning': 'cause, motive, reason'}, {'term': 'abhūt', 'meaning': 'came to be

• existed (aorist)'}, {'term': 'purā', 'meaning': 'formerly

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma warns that alliances based on expediency (yukti) and self-interest are inherently unstable: the same person can shift from enemy to friend and back again quickly. Therefore, one should not treat such relationships as enduring or morally reliable.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and polity, Bhishma is advising about the volatility of political relationships. He notes that friendship between parties lasts only as long as the motivating cause remains, emphasizing the changing nature of alliances.