Shloka 16

अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः

Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal

Devanagari script

न विश्वसेच्च नृपतिर्न चात्यर्थ च विश्वसेत्‌ । षाड्गुण्यगुणदोषांश्न नित्यं बुद्धघावलोकयेत्‌

Transliteration

na viśvasec ca nṛpatir na cātyarthaṃ ca viśvaset | ṣāḍguṇya-guṇa-doṣāṃś ca nityaṃ buddhyāvalokayet ||

Translation

राजा न तो किसी पर अन्धविश्वास करे, न ही सर्वथा अविश्वासी बने; और विश्वसनीय पर भी अत्यधिक भरोसा न करे। सन्धि, विग्रह, यान, आसन, द्वैधीभाव और समाश्रय—राजनीति के इन छह उपायों के गुण-दोषों का वह अपनी बुद्धि से सदा निरीक्षण करे।

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'viśvaset': 'should trust (optative of √viśvas)', 'nṛpatiḥ': 'king, ruler', 'na ca': 'and not', 'atyartham': 'excessively, to an extreme degree', 'ṣāḍguṇya': 'the sixfold policy of statecraft', 'guṇa': 'merit, advantage, good quality', 'doṣa': 'fault, risk, defect', 'aṃśān': 'aspects, parts, considerations', 'nityam': 'always, continually', 'buddhyā': 'by intelligence, by discernment', 'avalokayet': 'should observe/examine (optative of ava-√lok)', 'sandhi': 'peace, treaty, alliance by agreement', 'vigraha': 'hostility, war, rupture', 'yāna': 'marching/expedition, mobilization', 'āsana': 'staying put, remaining stationed', 'dvaidhībhāva': 'double policy

• outward peace with inward preparation/duplicity', 'samāśraya': 'seeking support/shelter

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• nṛpati (the king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Balanced judgment is essential for rulers: avoid both blanket distrust and blind trust, and continually assess the benefits and risks of the six diplomatic-strategic options (ṣāḍguṇya) before acting.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rāja-dharma, Bhishma advises the king on practical governance, emphasizing careful evaluation of policy choices in diplomacy and war.