Shloka 6
मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्
Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition
ततो धर्मार्थकामानां कुशल: प्रतिभानवान् | राजधर्मविधानज्ञ: प्रत्युवाच पुरंदरम्,उनके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर धर्म, अर्थ और कामके प्रतिपादनमें कुशल, प्रतिभाशाली तथा राजधर्मके विधानको जाननेवाले बृहस्पतिने इन्द्रको इस प्रकार उत्तर दिया
tato dharmārthakāmānāṁ kuśalaḥ pratibhānavān | rājadharmavidhānajñaḥ pratyuvāca purandaram ||
Maka, menjawab pertanyaan itu, Bṛhaspati—yang mahir menghuraikan dharma, artha dan kāma, tajam wawasannya, serta arif akan ketetapan dharma raja—pun menjawab Purandara (Indra) demikian.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the authority and scope of the instruction to follow: sound governance (rājadharma) should be articulated by one who understands the balanced aims of life—dharma (ethical order), artha (public welfare and policy), and kāma (regulated desire)—so that political action remains anchored in moral law rather than impulse or mere power.
After Indra (called Purandara) asks a question, Bṛhaspati—his preceptor and an expert in royal ethics—begins his reply. Bhīṣma, narrating in the Śānti Parva context, signals a transition into a didactic section on kingship and governance.