Shloka 9
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
तेनैव त्वं धृतिमता श्रीमता चाभिसत्कृत:
tenaiva tvaṁ dhṛtimatā śrīmatā cābhisatkṛtaḥ | āntaraiḥ bhedayitvārīn bilvaṁ bilvena bhedaya ||
ビーシュマは言った。「その手立てによって、堅忍にして富み栄えるジャナカ王は汝を厚く遇し、礼をもって讃えるであろう。王が相応の敬意をもって汝を迎えるとき、汝は人々の信を得て、名誉いよいよ輝く。されば同盟の兵を集め、能ある大臣と議し、敵の側近を通じて敵陣に離間を起こせ――ビルヴァをビルヴァで割るがごとく、敵の支えそのものを用いて敵を滅ぼすのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches pragmatic rāja-nīti: after securing honorable patronage and public trust, a ruler should act with deliberation—consult ministers, consolidate allies, and weaken hostile forces by inducing internal division through the enemy’s own insiders, i.e., neutralize opposition using its own dependencies rather than relying only on open force.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Śānti Parva, he points the listener toward King Janaka’s support and hospitality. Once the listener gains standing and credibility, Bhīṣma advises assembling friendly forces and, through careful counsel, orchestrating a split in the enemy camp via their confidants—summed up by the proverb ‘split the bilva with a bilva.’