Shloka 23
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
ततो गच्छसि सिद्धार्थ:पीड्यमानं महाजनम् | योगधर्मविदं पुण्यं कंचिदस्योपवर्णयेत्
tato gacchasi siddhārthaḥ pīḍyamānaṁ mahājanam | yogadharmavidaṁ puṇyaṁ kaṁcid asyopavarṇayet ||
Maka tujuanmu akan tercapai dan engkau pun berangkat. Sesudah itu, di hadapan raja itu, gambarkan penderitaan rakyat banyak yang tertindas, dan pujilah kemuliaan seorang suci yang memahami dharma yoga—agar raja musuh tergerak untuk melepaskan kerajaannya. Namun jika ia tetap teguh dalam wataknya dan ketakterikatan tidak bangkit dalam dirinya, maka melalui orang-orang yang kau tunjuk, gunakan ilmu ramuan yang telah sempurna—yang termasyhur memusnahkan segala musuh—untuk membinasakan gajah, kuda, dan prajurit pihak lawan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames a strategy of moral persuasion: first move a hostile ruler by showing the suffering of the people and by praising a virtuous exemplar of yoga-dharma, so that renunciation or restraint may arise. The passage also reflects the tension in raja-dharma between ethical suasion and harsher measures when persuasion fails.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and policy, Bhishma advises how to influence an enemy king: narrate public suffering and highlight the greatness of a righteous, disciplined person to induce the enemy to abandon his claim. The accompanying prose context (as in the provided Hindi) continues with an escalation plan if the king remains unmoved.