Shloka 22
Gaṇānāṃ Vṛttiḥ — On the Sustenance and Cohesion of Assemblies
Gaṇa-nīti
क्रोधो भेदो भयं दण्ड: कर्षणं निग्रहो वध: । नयत्यरिवशं सद्यो गणान् भरतसत्तम,भरतश्रेष्ठ! संघराज्यके लोगोंमें यदि क्रोध, भेद (फूट), भय, दण्डप्रहार, दूसरोंको दुर्बल बनाने, बन्धनमें डालने या मार डालनेकी प्रवृत्ति पैदा हो जाय तो वह उन्हें तत्काल शत्रुओंके वशमें डाल देती है
bhīṣma uvāca | krodho bhedo bhayaṃ daṇḍaḥ karṣaṇaṃ nigraho vadhaḥ | nayaty-arivaśaṃ sadyo gaṇān bharatasattama ||
ビーシュマは言った。「バラタ族の最勝者よ。怒り、派閥の分裂、恐れ、懲罰の暴力、他者を弱らせ引きずり落とす振る舞い、強制と抑圧、さらには殺害—これらの傾向が連合や共和の内に生じるなら、たちまち民は敵の支配へと引き渡される。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that a polity—especially a collective body like a gaṇa—collapses from within when it becomes ruled by anger, factionalism, fear, and coercive violence; such internal vices swiftly make it vulnerable to external enemies.
In the Shanti Parva instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma is explaining principles of governance and social stability, warning that internal discord and harsh coercion in a republic or assembly-state quickly results in subjugation by hostile powers.