Shloka 23
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
ततो गच्छसि सिद्धार्थ:पीड्यमानं महाजनम् | योगधर्मविदं पुण्यं कंचिदस्योपवर्णयेत्
tato gacchasi siddhārthaḥ pīḍyamānaṁ mahājanam | yogadharmavidaṁ puṇyaṁ kaṁcid asyopavarṇayet ||
ພີສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: “ແລ້ວເຈົ້າຈະໄປດ້ວຍຄວາມປາດຖະໜາສຳເລັດ. ຕໍ່ຈາກນັ້ນ ໃນພະພັກຂອງກະສັດນັ້ນ ຈົ່ງພັນລະນາຄວາມທຸກທ້ອນຂອງປະຊາຊົນຈຳນວນຫຼາຍທີ່ຖືກກົດຂີ່ ແລະຈົ່ງສັນລະເສີນຄຸນຄ່າຂອງຜູ້ມີບຸນຜູ້ຮູ້ທຳແຫ່ງໂຍຄະ. ດ້ວຍການພັນລະນານັ້ນ ກະສັດຜູ້ເປັນສັດຕູອາດຖືກຊັກຈູງໃຫ້ປາດຖະໜາສະຫຼະອານາຈັກ. (ແຕ່ຖ້າເຂົາຍັງຢືນຢັນໃນນິໄສເດີມ ແລະຄວາມຄາຍຄວາມຍຶດຕິດບໍ່ເກີດ ກໍໃຫ້ຜ່ານຄົນທີ່ເຈົ້າແຕ່ງຕັ້ງ ໃຊ້ວິຊາຢາສຳເລັດທີ່ເວົ້າວ່າທຳລາຍສັດຕູທັງປວງ ເພື່ອໃຫ້ຊ້າງ ມ້າ ແລະທະຫານຂອງສັດຕູຕາຍ.)”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames a strategy of moral persuasion: first move a hostile ruler by showing the suffering of the people and by praising a virtuous exemplar of yoga-dharma, so that renunciation or restraint may arise. The passage also reflects the tension in raja-dharma between ethical suasion and harsher measures when persuasion fails.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and policy, Bhishma advises how to influence an enemy king: narrate public suffering and highlight the greatness of a righteous, disciplined person to induce the enemy to abandon his claim. The accompanying prose context (as in the provided Hindi) continues with an escalation plan if the king remains unmoved.