Shloka 5
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
कदाचित् तं जलस्थायं मत्स्यबन्धा: समन्ततः । निस्रावयामासुरथो निम्नेषु विविधैर्मुखै:
kadācit taṃ jalasthāyaṃ matsyabandhāḥ samantataḥ | nisrāvayāmāsur atho nimneṣu vividhair mukhaiḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Certa vez, os pescadores, cercando aquele reservatório por todos os lados, abriram canais e começaram a escoar sua água por muitas aberturas para as terras mais baixas ao redor—pondo em marcha um ato deliberado de esvaziar o que fora um habitat sustentador.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical illustration: intentional actions that disrupt a life-sustaining environment (here, draining a reservoir) have consequences for dependent beings. In Shanti Parva’s moral discourse, such scenes commonly serve to highlight responsibility, restraint, and the dharmic evaluation of harm caused by human choices.
Fishermen surround a pond/reservoir and create multiple outlets or channels, draining the water into nearby low ground. The action is purposeful and systematic, preparing the ground for what follows in the story (typically the exposure and capture or suffering of aquatic life).