Shloka 17

Devanagari script

उच्छिद्यमानमात्मान ज्ञात्वा राजा महामति: । पूर्वापकारिणो हन्याल्लोकद्विष्टांश्व॒ सर्वश:,यदि यह पता लग जाय कि कोई हमारा उच्छेद कर रहा है, तो परम बुद्धिमान्‌ राजा पहलेके अपकारियोंको तथा जनताके साथ द्वेष रखनेवालोंको भी सर्वथा नष्ट कर दे

Transliteration

ucchidyamānam ātmānaṃ jñātvā rājā mahāmatiḥ | pūrvāpakāriṇo hanyāl lokadviṣṭāṃś ca sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

ພີດສະມະກ່າວວ່າ: ເມື່ອກະສັດຜູ້ມີປັນຍາຍິ່ງ ຮູ້ຊັດວ່າ ການດໍາລົງຢູ່ຂອງຕົນກໍາລັງຖືກຕັດຂາດ—ທັງລາຊະອໍານາດແລະຊີວິດຖືກເລັ່ງເປົ້າ—ກໍຄວນກໍາຈັດຢ່າງເດັດຂາດ ຜູ້ທີ່ເຄີຍທໍາຮ້າຍຕົນ ແລະຜູ້ທີ່ມີຄວາມຊັງຕໍ່ປະຊາຊົນ ໃຫ້ສິ້ນຊາກໂດຍຖອນຮາກຖອນໂຄນ.

Word by Word

उच्छिद्यमानम्being cut off / being destroyed

आत्मानम्oneself

ज्ञात्वाhaving known / realizing

राजाthe king

महामतिःvery wise / of great intellect

पूर्व-अपकारिणःformer wrongdoers / prior offenders

हन्यात्should kill / should destroy

लोक-द्विष्टान्those who hate the people / public-haters

चand

सर्वशःentirely / in every way

यदिif

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

king (rājā)

the people/public (loka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A prudent king must protect the realm and the people by decisively neutralizing those who threaten his existence and those who are hostile to public welfare; punishment here is presented as a duty of governance (rājadharma), not personal vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on royal conduct, Bhishma advises on how a ruler should respond when he learns of plots or forces aiming at his destruction: he should act firmly against prior offenders and public-haters to prevent wider harm.