Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सुमन्त्रितं सुविक्रान्तं सुयुद्धं सुपलायितम्‌ । आपदास्पदकाले तु कुर्वीत न विचारयेत्‌,“संकटकाल उपस्थित होनेपर राजा सुन्दर मन्त्रणा, उत्तम पराक्रम एवं उत्साहपूर्वक युद्ध करे तथा अवसर आ जाय तो सुन्दर ढंगसे पलायन भी करे। आपत्कालके समय आवश्यक कर्म ही करना चाहिये, पर सोच-विचार नहीं करना चाहिये

Transliteration

sumantritaṃ suvikrāntaṃ suyuddhaṃ supalāyitam | āpadāspada-kāle tu kurvīta na vicārayet ||

Translation

Pada saat bahaya, raja harus bertindak dengan nasihat yang baik, menampakkan keberanian yang unggul, dan bertempur dengan tekad penuh; dan bila keadaan menuntut, ia pun harus mundur dengan tertib dan cakap. Ketika krisis telah tiba, lakukan yang perlu—bukan berlarut dalam pertimbangan.

Word by Word

• {'sumantritam': 'well-advised

• guided by good counsel/strategy', 'suvikrāntam': 'of excellent prowess

• marked by great valor', 'suyuddham': 'well-fought battle

• fighting properly and effectively', 'supalāyitam': 'good/skillful retreat

• orderly withdrawal (not cowardly flight)', 'āpada': 'calamity, distress, emergency', 'āspada': 'occasion, locus, situation

• a footing/setting', 'kāla': 'time, occasion', 'tu': 'but/indeed (emphatic particle)', 'kurvīta': 'should do

• ought to undertake (optative)', 'na': 'not', 'vicārayet': 'should deliberate/ponder

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• king (rājā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In an emergency, a ruler must act decisively: combine good counsel with courage and effective combat, and if required, execute a strategic retreat. The ethical point is that necessity in crisis demands prompt action rather than prolonged hesitation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Bhishma’s instruction on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, he advises Yudhishthira on how a king should respond when danger suddenly arises—balancing counsel, valor, battle-readiness, and even tactical withdrawal.