Shloka 5
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
यस्तस्यार्थों न रोचेत न तं तस्य प्रकाशयेत् । धर्माधर्मेण राजानश्नरन्ति विजिगीषव:
yastasyārtho na roceta na taṁ tasya prakāśayet | dharmādharmena rājānaḥ caranti vijigīṣavaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「その義人が好まぬ提案や目的があるなら、それを彼に明かしてはならぬ。征服を志す王たちは一つの道だけを行くのではない。ある時はダルマにより、ある時はアダルマによって進む。ゆえに、偏らず、報酬のために二君に仕えぬ、真にダルマに立つ助言者には、正しさの光の下に耐え得る目的のみを携えて近づくべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not place unrighteous or dubious plans before a genuinely dharmic counsellor, because victory-seeking rulers may alternate between dharma and adharma; a righteous adviser should be engaged only in aims that can be pursued ethically.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and counsel, Bhishma explains how rulers driven by conquest may shift between moral and immoral methods, and he advises discretion in what one discloses to a truly righteous person.