Shloka 103
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
आन्तरैभेंदयित्वारीन् बिल्व॑ बिल्वेन भेदय | राजा जनक बड़े धीर और श्रीसम्पन्न हैं। जब वे तुम्हारा सत्कार करेंगे
āntaraiḥ bhedayitvā arīn bilvaṁ bilvena bhedaya | rājā janakaḥ baḍe dhīraḥ śrī-sampannaś ca | yadā te satkāraṁ kariṣyati tadā sarva-lokānāṁ viśvāsa-pātraḥ bhūtvā tvam atyantaṁ gauravānvitō bhaviṣyasi | tām avasthāṁ prāpya mitrāṇāṁ senām ekatrīkṛtya śubhaiḥ mantribhiḥ saha mantraṇāṁ kṛtvā antar-aṅga-janair śatru-dale bhedaṁ kārayitvā bilvaṁ bilvenaiva bhedaya (śatroḥ sahāyenaiva śatroḥ vidhvaṁsaṁ kuryāḥ) |
भीष्म उवाच—आन्तरैर्भेदयित्वारीन् बिल्वं बिल्वेन भेदय। जनको नाम राजा धीरः श्रीसम्पन्नश्च; स त्वां सत्करिष्यति चेत् सर्वलोकविश्वास्यः सन् त्वमत्यन्तं गौरवं प्राप्स्यसि। ततः सुहृदां सेनां समाहृत्य, कुशलैर्मन्त्रिभिः सह मन्त्रयित्वा, गूढपुरुषैः शत्रुसैन्ये भेदं जनयित्वा, शत्रुं शत्रुसहायैरेव विनाशय—यथा बिल्वं बिल्वेन।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler (or political actor) should act through rājadharma: secure legitimacy and trust, consult competent ministers, build alliances, and use intelligence to create divisions within hostile forces—defeating the enemy with minimal direct confrontation, symbolized by splitting a bilva with another bilva.
Bhishma is instructing on practical governance and war-policy: he points to King Janaka’s honorable support as a source of public trust, then outlines a plan—gather allied troops, deliberate with ministers, and employ confidential agents to foment dissension in the enemy camp so the enemy collapses from within.