Shloka 32

Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)

Devanagari script

ज्ञातिभ्यश्चैव बुद्धयेथा मृत्योरिव भयं सदा । उपराजेव राजर्धि ज्ञातिर्न सहते सदा,युधिष्ठिर! तुम अपने कुटुम्बीजनोंसे सदा उसी प्रकार भय मानना, जैसे लोग मृत्युसे डरते रहते हैं। जिस प्रकार पड़ोसी राजा अपने पासके राजाकी उन्नति देख नहीं सकता, उसी प्रकार एक कुट॒म्बी दूसरे कुटुम्बीका अभ्युदय कभी नहीं सह सकता

Transliteration

jñātibhyaś caiva buddhyethā mṛtyor iva bhayaṃ sadā | uparājeva rājarṣi jñātir na sahate sadā, yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: “Ó Yudhiṣṭhira, sê sempre vigilante e prudente quanto aos teus próprios parentes, temendo-os como os homens temem a morte. Pois, assim como um rei vizinho não suporta ver a ascensão e a prosperidade do rei ao lado, do mesmo modo um parente muitas vezes não consegue suportar o progresso de outro parente.”

Word by Word

• {'jñātibhyaḥ': 'from/with regard to kinsmen, relatives', 'ca eva': 'and indeed, certainly', 'buddhyethāḥ (buddhyethā)': 'you should be wise/alert

• you should understand and act with discernment', 'mṛtyoḥ iva': 'like death

• as (one fears) death', 'bhayam': 'fear, apprehension', 'sadā': 'always, continually', 'uparāja-iva (uparājeva)': 'like a neighboring king', 'rājarṣi': 'royal sage (epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'jñātiḥ': 'a kinsman/relative (as a rival within the family)', 'na sahate': 'does not tolerate, cannot endure', 'abhyudaya (implied by sense)': 'rise, prosperity, advancement'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• jñāti (kinsmen/relatives)
• uparāja (neighboring king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma warns that rivalry and jealousy can arise even among one’s own relatives; therefore a ruler should remain discerning and cautious, not assuming goodwill merely because of kinship.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma offers practical counsel on governance and social realities, using the analogy of neighboring kings to explain how relatives may resent each other’s prosperity.