Shloka 48
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
तथा खातविधानं च योग: संचार एव च | चोरैराटविकैश्नोग्रै: परराष्ट्स्य पीडनम्
tathā khātavidhānaṃ ca yogaḥ saṃcāra eva ca | corair āṭavikaiś cograir pararāṣṭrasya pīḍanam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De même, creuser des fosses et disposer d’autres engins dissimulés, recourir aux stratagèmes et se mouvoir en secret—ainsi que harceler le royaume ennemi par des voleurs farouches et des pillards des forêts—font partie des moyens employés pour accabler un État rival.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists harsh but recognized instruments of rājadharma (state policy in conflict): traps, stratagems, covert movement, and using irregular forces to pressure an enemy state—highlighting that governance includes pragmatic measures, even morally tense ones, when protecting one’s realm.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on kingship and policy. Here he enumerates specific tactics used to weaken an opposing kingdom, describing forms of covert and irregular warfare.