Shloka 140
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
परतन्त्र: सदा राजा स्वल्पेष्वपि प्रसज्जते । संधिविग्रहयोगे च कुतो राज्ञ: स्वतन्त्रता
paratantraḥ sadā rājā svalpeṣv api prasajjate | sandhi-vigraha-yoge ca kuto rājñaḥ svatantratā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王はつねに他に依存しながら、なお些細なことにさえ執着する。和を結ぶか戦を起こすかという肝要の務めにおいてすら、王の独立はどこにあるのか。統治は助言者、同盟者、敵、資源、そして民の秩序により制約される。ゆえに真の選択の自由を欠いていても、王は限られた享楽と政務の重荷にしがみつくのである。」
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that political power does not equal personal freedom: a king is structurally dependent on ministers, allies, enemies, resources, and circumstances, so he should govern with restraint and realism rather than imagining absolute autonomy.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira, emphasizing the constraints of kingship—especially in decisions of peace and war—and warning against attachment to even minor pleasures or choices.