Shloka 15
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
तथैवात्युदकाद् भीतस्तस्य भेदनमिच्छति । यमेवंलक्षणं विद्यात् तममित्र विनिर्दिशेत्
tathaivātyudakād bhītastasya bhedanam icchati | yam evaṃlakṣaṇaṃ vidyāt tam amitraṃ vinirdiśet ||
तसेच, ज्याच्या शेतात अती पाणी साचल्याने तो भयभीत होऊन ते काढण्यासाठी मेढ फोडू इच्छितो—ज्यात अशी लक्षणे दिसतील, त्याला शत्रू समजावे; कारण जो राज्यसीमेचा रक्षक असूनही सीमा तोडतो, त्याच्यामुळे राज्यावर संकट येऊ शकते.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person entrusted with protecting boundaries or safeguards becomes especially dangerous if he himself breaches them; betrayal by a guardian is a clear sign of enmity and must be treated as a security threat.
Bhishma uses a practical agrarian analogy: when a field floods, a frightened farmer may want to break the embankment to release water. He applies this to governance—if a kingdom’s boundary-keeper breaks the boundary, it invites peril, so such a person should be identified as an enemy.