Shloka 15

Devanagari script

चारयेथाश्ष सततं चारैरविदित: परै: | परीक्षितैर्बहुविधै: स्वराष्ट्प्रतिवासिभि:,“जिनकी किसी अवसरपर परीक्षा कर ली गयी हो और जो अपने ही राज्यके भीतर निवास करनेवाले हों, ऐसे अनेक जासूसोंको भेजकर उनके द्वारा शत्रुओंका गुप्त भेद लेते रहना और प्रयत्नपूर्वक ऐसी चेष्टा करना, जिससे शत्रु तुम्हारा भेद न जान सकें”

Transliteration

cārayethāś ca satataṃ cārair aviditaḥ paraiḥ | parīkṣitair bahuvidhaiḥ svarāṣṭra-prativāsibhiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: “Mantém o inimigo sob vigilância constante por meio de espiões, permanecendo tu desconhecido para ele. Emprega muitos tipos de agentes—já testados e comprovados, e residentes do teu próprio reino—para que aprendas continuamente as intenções ocultas do adversário, e esforça-te com cuidado para que o inimigo não venha a conhecer os teus segredos.”

Word by Word

चारयेत्should employ/send (to spy)

एतान्these

सततम्constantly

चारैःby spies/agents

अविदितःunknown

परैःby others/enemies

परीक्षितैःtested/verified

बहुविधैःof many kinds/various

स्वराष्ट्रप्रतिवासिभिःby those dwelling in one’s own kingdom

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

spies (cāra)

enemies (para)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should practice vigilant, continuous intelligence-gathering through trustworthy, well-tested agents—preferably rooted in the home territory—while ensuring operational secrecy so that the enemy cannot learn the ruler’s own plans.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana conveys a counsel of governance: the use of diverse, vetted spies to uncover an enemy’s concealed intentions, coupled with careful measures to keep one’s own affairs hidden from hostile powers.