Shloka 19
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
आदी न कुरुते श्रेय: कुशलो<स्मीति यः पुमान् | स संशयमवाप्रोति यथा सम्प्रतिपत्तिमान्
ādau na kurute śreyaḥ kuśalo 'smīti yaḥ pumān | sa saṁśayam avāpnoti yathā sampratipattimān matsyaḥ ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—जो पुरुष “मी फार कुशल आहे” असे मानून आरंभीच आपल्या कल्याणाचा उपाय करत नाही, तो प्रत्युत्पन्नमति माशाप्रमाणे प्राणसंशय व संकटात पडतो. म्हणून केवळ आत्मविश्वास किंवा शेवटच्या क्षणीची चतुराई यांवर न विसंबता, आपले हित आधीच सुरक्षित करावे.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not rely on mere confidence in one’s skill; secure one’s true welfare (śreyas) early through timely, well-considered action. Last-minute cleverness cannot always avert danger once circumstances have turned adverse.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he warns the listener through a simile: a person who postpones beneficial measures because he thinks himself capable ends up in a life-threatening predicament, like a fish that is quick-witted in the moment yet still gets trapped.