Shloka 41
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
कृतप्रज्ञश्न मेधावी बुधो जानपद: शुचि: । सर्वकर्मसु यः शुद्ध: स मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति,जिसकी बुद्धि तीव्र और धारणाशक्ति प्रबल हो, जो अपने ही देशमें उत्पन्न, शुद्ध आचरणवाला और दिद्दान् हो तथा सब तरहके कार्योंमें परीक्षा करनेपर निर्दोष सिद्ध हुआ हो, वह गुप्त सलाह सुननेका अधिकारी है
kṛtaprajñaś ca medhāvī budho jānapadaḥ śuciḥ | sarvakarmasu yaḥ śuddhaḥ sa mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
कृतप्रज्ञश्च मेधावी बुधो जानपदः शुचिः। सर्वकर्मसु यः शुद्धः स मन्त्रं श्रोतुमर्हति॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Confidential counsel should be entrusted only to a person of proven character: mature judgment, intelligence, wisdom, purity of conduct, local rootedness/trust, and a record that remains faultless under examination.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous governance and conduct, Bhīṣma lays down criteria for who is qualified to receive and hear secret political or ethical counsel (mantra), emphasizing tested integrity over mere status.