Shloka 31
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
व्यथयेद्धि स राजानं मन्त्रिभि: सहितोडनृजु: । मारुतोपहितच्छिद्रे: प्रविश्याग्निरिव द्रुमम्,वह कपटी मन्त्री यदि गुप्त विचारोंको जान ले तो अन्य मन्त्रियोंक साथ मिलकर राजाको उसी प्रकार पीड़ा देता है, जैसे आग हवासे भरे हुए छेदोंमें घुसकर समूचे वृक्षको भस्म कर डालती है
vyathayed dhi sa rājānaṃ mantribhiḥ sahito 'nṛjuḥ | mārutopahita-chidraiḥ praviśyāgnir iva drumam ||
व्यथयेद्धि स राजानं मन्त्रिभिः सहितोऽनृजुः । मारुतोपहितच्छिद्रैः प्रविश्याग्निरिव द्रुमम् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s confidential counsel is a vital safeguard of governance; if a dishonest minister gains access to secrets and allies with others, he can destroy the king’s stability from within—like wind-fed fire exploiting small openings to consume an entire tree.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma, he warns about internal threats in the court: a crooked minister who learns secret deliberations can collaborate with other ministers to distress and undermine the king, illustrated through the vivid metaphor of fire entering a tree through wind-assisted gaps.