Shloka 9

Kośārtha-Rājadharma: Ethical Revenue Collection and Social Regulation (कोशार्थ-राजधर्मः)

Devanagari script

सकृत्पाशावकीण्णस्ति न भविष्यन्ति दुर्दमा: । उचितेनैव भोक्तव्यास्ते भविष्यन्ति यत्नतः

Transliteration

sakṛt pāśāvakīrṇās tu na bhaviṣyanti durdamāḥ | ucitenaiva bhoktavyās te bhaviṣyanti yatnataḥ ||

Translation

ਜੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਇਕੋ ਵਾਰ ਫਾਹੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਫਸਾ ਕੇ ਭਾਰੀ ਬੋਝ ਲਾਦ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਜਾਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਜੋ ਅਣਵੱਸ ਹਨ ਉਹ ਕਾਬੂ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਉਣਗੇ। ਇਸ ਲਈ ਯੋਗ ਮਾਪ ਨਾਲ ਅਤੇ ਧਿਆਨਪੂਰਵਕ ਜਤਨ ਕਰਕੇ, ਇਕ-ਇਕ ਕਰਕੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੱਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿਆ ਕੇ ਬੋਝ ਢੋਣ ਦੇ ਯੋਗ ਬਣਾਉਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ; ਤਦ ਸਮੇਂ ਨਾਲ ਉਹ ਪੂਰਾ ਭਾਰ ਝੱਲਣ ਜੋਗੇ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।

Word by Word

• {'sakṛt': 'all at once

• in a single attempt', 'pāśa': 'noose

• restraint', 'avakīrṇa': 'thrown over

• entangled/covered', 'na bhaviṣyanti': 'will not become

• will not prove to be', 'durdamāḥ': 'hard to tame

• ungovernable', 'ucitena': 'by what is proper/appropriate

• in due measure', 'eva': 'indeed

• precisely', 'bhoktavyāḥ': 'to be borne/endured

• to be managed/handled (as a duty)', 'te': 'they', 'bhaviṣyanti': 'will become', 'yatnataḥ': 'with effort

Speaker

भीष्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Discipline and capacity are developed progressively: forcing a heavy restraint or burden all at once makes the unruly harder to manage, whereas appropriate, step-by-step training with sustained effort makes them capable of bearing responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct and practical policy, Bhīṣma advises the listener through a metaphor of restraining and loading: one should not attempt to subdue or burden difficult subjects/agents in a single harsh act, but should guide them gradually until they become dependable.