Shloka 158
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तेषु तेषु हि कालेषु तत्तदड़ विशिष्यते । येन यत् सिध्यते कार्य तत् प्राधान्याय कल्पते
teṣu teṣu hi kāleṣu tattad aṅgaṁ viśiṣyate | yena yat sidhyate kāryaṁ tat prādhānyāya kalpate ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Selon les temps, tel ou tel membre du royaume devient particulièrement important. Celui par lequel une tâche s’accomplit doit, pour cette tâche, être tenu pour premier. Ainsi les sages ne jugent pas la préséance d’après un rang immuable, mais d’après l’exigence du moment et la réussite de l’action.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Primacy in governance is contextual: among the constituents of a kingdom, whichever factor actually accomplishes the needed task at a given time should be treated as foremost. Effective and ethical rule requires situational judgment rather than rigid hierarchy.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on practical principles of statecraft, explaining that the importance of the kingdom’s constituent elements shifts with circumstances and objectives.