Shloka 5
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
यस्तस्यार्थों न रोचेत न तं तस्य प्रकाशयेत् । धर्माधर्मेण राजानश्नरन्ति विजिगीषव:
yastasyārtho na roceta na taṁ tasya prakāśayet | dharmādharmena rājānaḥ caranti vijigīṣavaḥ ||
यस्तस्यार्थो न रोचेत् न तं तस्य प्रकाशयेत्। धर्माधर्मेण राजानो चरन्ति विजिगीषवः। तस्माद् यो धर्मनिष्ठोऽमित्रपक्षपातवर्जितो न चोभयतः पार्श्वयोर्वेतनभाक्, तं केवलं धर्म्येष्वर्थेषु समुपासीत।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not place unrighteous or dubious plans before a genuinely dharmic counsellor, because victory-seeking rulers may alternate between dharma and adharma; a righteous adviser should be engaged only in aims that can be pursued ethically.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and counsel, Bhishma explains how rulers driven by conquest may shift between moral and immoral methods, and he advises discretion in what one discloses to a truly righteous person.