Shloka 5
एकचक्रानिवासप्रस्तावः | Ekacakrā Sojourn—Vyāsa’s Consolation and Directive
संरक्ष तात मन्त्र च सपत्नांश्व ममोद्धर । निपुणेनाभ्युपायेन यद् ब्रवीमि तथा कुरु,“तात! तुम मेरी इस गुप्त मन्त्रणाकी रक्षा करो--इसे दूसरोंपर प्रकट न होने दो और अच्छे उपायद्वारा मेरे शत्रुओंको उखाड़ फेंको। मैं तुमसे जो कहता हूँ, वही करो
saṃrakṣa tāta mantraṃ ca sapatnānś ca mamoddhara | nipuṇenābhyupāyena yad bravīmi tathā kuru ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “My son, guard this counsel as a secret—do not let it be disclosed to others. And by a skillful stratagem, uproot my rivals. Do exactly as I instruct you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power and peril of confidential counsel: strategy must be protected from disclosure, and actions should be executed with skillful means. Ethically, it raises the tension between prudence in governance and the moral ambiguity of using stratagems to remove rivals.
A speaker issues a directive to a younger addressee: keep the plan secret, employ a clever method, and act precisely according to the instructions to neutralize opponents.