Shloka 30
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
धर्मशास्त्रार्थतत्त्वज्ञ: संधिविग्रहिको भवेत् । मतिमान् धृतिमान् ह्वीमान् रहस्यविनिगूहिता,सन्धि-विग्रहके अवसरको जाननेवाला, धर्मशास्त्रका तत्त्वज्ञ, बुद्धिमान, धीर, लज्जावान रहस्यको गुप्त रखनेवाला, कुलीन, साहसी तथा शुद्ध हृदयवाला मन्त्री ही उत्तम माना जाता है। सेनापति भी इन्हीं गुणोंसे युक्त होना चाहिये
dharmśāstrārthatattvajñaḥ sandhivigrahiko bhavet | matimān dhṛtimān hrīmān rahasyavinigūhitā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「大臣たる者は、ダルマ・シャーストラの原理と趣旨を真に悟り、いつ和議（サンディ）を結び、いつ戦（ヴィグラハ）に出るべきかを知る者でなければならぬ。さらに、聡明で、堅忍不抜、慎み深く、恥を知り、密議を秘して守れる者であるべきだ。そのような者こそ最上の助言者と見なされ、軍の統帥もまた同じ徳を備えるべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma defines the ideal adviser (and by extension the commander) as a person grounded in dharma, skilled in judging peace versus conflict, and marked by intelligence, firmness, modest self-restraint, and the ability to keep confidential counsel—ethical character and strategic discernment must go together.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous governance. Here he lists the essential qualifications of a minister and notes that a सेनापति (commander) should likewise embody these virtues, linking moral discipline with effective state leadership.