Shloka 24
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
अपि त्यागं बुभूषेत कच्चिद् गच्छेदनामयम् । सिद्धेनौषधियोगेन सर्वशत्रुविनाशिना । नागानश्चान् मनुष्यांश्न कृतकैरुपघातयेत्
api tyāgaṁ bubhūṣet kaccid gacched anāmayam | siddhenauṣadhi-yogena sarva-śatru-vināśinā | nāgān aśvān manuṣyāṁś ca kṛtakair upaghātayet |
ビーシュマは言った。「彼に出離の願いを起こさせ得るか、また病も乱れもなく国を去らせ得るかを見極めよ。あの王の前で、苦しむ真の偉人の哀れな境遇を語り、さらにヨーガの規律を知る徳ある魂の栄光を説け。そうすれば敵王は国を捨てようとするかもしれぬ。だが、もし彼が本性に安住して揺るがず、離欲が起こらぬなら、おまえの任じた密使を通じて、万敵を滅ぼすと伝えられる成就した薬術を用い、敵の象・馬・人を殺させよ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a layered strategy: first attempt a non-violent resolution by inducing the hostile king toward renunciation through moral exempla (suffering of the great and glory of the yogic, virtuous). Only if that fails does it propose covert, destructive measures—highlighting the tension in rājadharma between ethical persuasion and ruthless statecraft.
Bhīṣma is instructing on how to neutralize an enemy ruler: try to make him abandon his kingdom willingly by influencing his mind toward vairāgya (detachment). If he remains unmoved, then use appointed agents and a ‘perfected’ medicinal method to eliminate the enemy’s military assets—elephants, horses, and soldiers.