Shloka 69
Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances
स्थापितो<यं त्वया पुत्र सामन्तेष्वपि विश्रुत: । दुःखेनासाद्यते पात्र धार्यतामेष ते सुहत्
sthāpito ’yaṁ tvayā putra sāmanteṣv api viśrutaḥ | duḥkhena āsādyate pātraṁ dhāryatām eṣa te suhṛt ||
भीष्म बोले—बेटा, तुमने ही इसको मन्त्री के पद पर बैठाया है और तुम्हारे सामन्तों में भी इसकी ख्याति फैल गई है। सच्चा सुपात्र बड़ी कठिनाई से मिलता है। यह ‘सियार’ तुम्हारा हितैषी सुहृद् है; इसलिए इसकी रक्षा करो और इसे संभालकर रखो।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A capable and trustworthy person is rare; if you have elevated someone to responsibility and he is a genuine well-wisher, you should stand by him and protect him, even amid public scrutiny and political pressures.
Bhishma, instructing a ruler, remarks that the ruler himself appointed this minister whose fame has spread among subordinate chiefs; Bhishma then urges the ruler to value and safeguard such a supportive ally, since truly worthy people are hard to find.