Shloka 17
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
अदैवं दैवतं कुर्युर्दैवतं चाप्पदैवतम् । यमिच्छेयु: स राजा स्याद् ये नेष्ट: स पराभवेत्
adaivaṁ daivataṁ kuryur daivataṁ cāpy adaivatam | yam iccheyuḥ sa rājā syād ye neṣṭaḥ sa parābhavet ||
Mereka dapat menjadikan yang tidak ilahi tampak ilahi, dan bahkan melucuti yang ilahi dari keilahiannya. Siapa pun yang mereka kehendaki menjadi raja, dialah raja; dan siapa pun yang tidak mereka terima sebagai raja, ia akan menemui kekalahan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights how collective influence—courtiers, elites, or the public—can manufacture legitimacy: they can elevate the unworthy as “divine” and diminish the worthy, determining who is accepted as king and who is brought to ruin. The ethical warning is to be wary of power that manipulates reputation and sacred status.
In Bhishma’s instruction on governance and dharma, he comments on the forces that shape royal authority. He observes that a ruler’s rise or fall often depends not only on personal merit but also on the will and endorsement of influential groups who can confer or withdraw recognition.