Shloka 36
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
मन्त्रश्न वर्णित: कृत्स्नस्तथा भेदार्थ एव च | विशभ्रमश्चैव मन्त्रस्य सिद्ध्यसिद्धौश्व यत् फलम्,सब प्रकारकी मन्त्रणा, भेदनीतिके प्रयोगके प्रयोजन, मन्त्रणामें होनेवाले भ्रम या उसके फूटनेके भय तथा मन्त्रणाकी सिद्धि और असिद्धिके फलका भी इस शास्त्रमें वर्णन है
mantraś ca varṇitaḥ kṛtsnas tathā bhedārtha eva ca | vibhramaś caiva mantrasya siddhy-asiddhau ca yat phalam |
Бхишма сказал: «В этом трактате полностью разъяснена наука совета (mantra) — вместе с целью и способом применения политики раздора (bheda-nīti), с теми смятениями и опасностями, что возникают в совете (включая страх разглашения), а также с последствиями, которые следуют, когда совет удаётся или терпит неудачу.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effective governance depends on sound, confidential deliberation. The text highlights (1) the full scope of counsel, (2) the strategic use of bheda (division) when appropriate, (3) the dangers of confusion and leakage in deliberations, and (4) the concrete consequences of successful versus failed counsel—implying an ethical duty to be clear, prudent, and discreet for the welfare of the realm.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma. Here he summarizes what this śāstra section covers: counsel and its management, the policy of bheda, the internal risks of deliberation (confusion and fear of disclosure), and the outcomes that follow depending on whether counsel is successfully executed or not.