Shloka 28
मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्
Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition
भेदं च प्रथमं युञ्ज्यात् तृष्णीं दण्डं तथैव च । काले प्रयोजयेद् राजा तस्मिंस्तस्मिंस्तदा तदा,राजा शत्रुके प्रति पहले भेदनीतिका प्रयोग करे। तत्पश्चात् वह उपयुक्त अवसर आनेपर भिन्न-भिन्न शत्रुके प्रति भिन्न-भिन्न समयमें चुपचाप दण्डनीतिका प्रयोग करे
bhedaṃ ca prathamaṃ yuñjyāt tṛṣṇīṃ daṇḍaṃ tathaiva ca | kāle prayojayed rājā tasmiṃstasmiṃstadā tadā ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Seorang raja hendaklah terlebih dahulu menggunakan dasar pemecah-belahan (menjadikan lawan saling berselisih). Sesudah itu, pada waktu yang tepat, hendaklah ia juga mengenakan hukuman—secara senyap dan dengan pengendalian diri—menurut kesesuaian terhadap setiap musuh dan setiap keadaan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches a graded, situational approach to kingship: begin with non-bloody political strategy (bheda—breaking hostile unity), and resort to coercive punishment (daṇḍa) only when timing and necessity demand it, applying it discreetly and proportionately to each case.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on practical governance. Here he outlines how a ruler should manage enemies: first by strategic division, and later—when the moment is ripe—by measured, quiet enforcement.