Shloka 19
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
आदी न कुरुते श्रेय: कुशलो<स्मीति यः पुमान् | स संशयमवाप्रोति यथा सम्प्रतिपत्तिमान्
ādau na kurute śreyaḥ kuśalo 'smīti yaḥ pumān | sa saṁśayam avāpnoti yathā sampratipattimān matsyaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「『我は有能なり』と思い込み、初めから自らの安寧のための手立てを講じぬ者は、危難と疑惑の中に落ちる。まさに、その場の機転には長けながら、ついには命の危うきに至る魚のごとし。教えは、己の善を早く確保し、ただ自信や土壇場の才覚のみに頼るな、ということである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not rely on mere confidence in one’s skill; secure one’s true welfare (śreyas) early through timely, well-considered action. Last-minute cleverness cannot always avert danger once circumstances have turned adverse.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he warns the listener through a simile: a person who postpones beneficial measures because he thinks himself capable ends up in a life-threatening predicament, like a fish that is quick-witted in the moment yet still gets trapped.