Shloka 161

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

पुनश्च रिपुरद्यैव युक्तीनां पश्य चापलम्‌ । “मित्रता और शत्रुताके रूप तो बादलोंके समान क्षण-क्षणमें बदलते रहते हैं। आज ही तुम मेरे शत्रु होकर फिर आज ही मेरे मित्र हो सकते हो और उसके बाद आज ही पुनः शत्रु भी बन सकते हो। देखो, यह स्वार्थका सम्बन्ध कितना चंचल है? ।।

Transliteration

punaś ca ripur adyaiva yuktīnāṃ paśya cāpalam | āsīn maitrī tu tāvannau yāvad hetur abhūt purā ||

Translation

ಮತ್ತೆ ನೋಡು—ನೀತಿಯ ಯುಕ್ತಿಗಳ ಚಾಪಲ್ಯ ಎಷ್ಟೋ! ಮನುಷ್ಯನು ಇಂದು ಶತ್ರುವಾಗಿ, ಇದೇ ದಿನ ಮಿತ್ರನಾಗಿ, ಇದೇ ದಿನ ಮತ್ತೆ ಶತ್ರುವಾಗಬಹುದು. ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥದ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಂತ ಬಂಧ ಎಷ್ಟು ಅಸ್ಥಿರ! ನಮ್ಮ ಮೈತ್ರಿಯೂ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಕಾರಣ ಇದ್ದಷ್ಟರವರೆಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಇತ್ತು.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'punaḥ (punaś ca)', 'meaning': 'again

• moreover'}, {'term': 'ripuḥ', 'meaning': 'enemy'}, {'term': 'adyaiva', 'meaning': 'today itself

• this very day'}, {'term': 'yukti', 'meaning': 'device, stratagem

• policy, calculated means'}, {'term': 'yuktīnām', 'meaning': 'of policies/stratagems (genitive plural)'}, {'term': 'paśya', 'meaning': 'see

• observe (imperative)'}, {'term': 'cāpalam', 'meaning': 'fickleness, instability, inconstancy'}, {'term': 'āsīt', 'meaning': 'was

• existed'}, {'term': 'maitrī', 'meaning': 'friendship, alliance'}, {'term': 'tāvat', 'meaning': 'so long

• only up to that point'}, {'term': 'nau', 'meaning': 'of us two

• for the two of us (dual pronoun)'}, {'term': 'yāvat', 'meaning': 'as long as

• while'}, {'term': 'hetuḥ', 'meaning': 'cause, motive, reason'}, {'term': 'abhūt', 'meaning': 'came to be

• existed (aorist)'}, {'term': 'purā', 'meaning': 'formerly

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma warns that alliances based on expediency (yukti) and self-interest are inherently unstable: the same person can shift from enemy to friend and back again quickly. Therefore, one should not treat such relationships as enduring or morally reliable.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and polity, Bhishma is advising about the volatility of political relationships. He notes that friendship between parties lasts only as long as the motivating cause remains, emphasizing the changing nature of alliances.