Shloka 44
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
संतुष्ट: सम्मतः सत्य: शौटीरो द्वेष्पपापक: । मन्त्रवित् कालविच्छूर: स मन्त्र श्रोतुमहति,जो संतोषी, सत्पुरुषोंद्वारा सम्मानित, सत्यपरायण, शूरवीर, पापसे घृणा करनेवाला, राजकीय मन्त्रणाको समझनेवाला, समयकी पहचान रखनेवाला तथा शौर्यसम्पन्न है, वह भी गुप्त मन्त्रणाको सुननेकी योग्यता रखता है
santuṣṭaḥ sammataḥ satyaḥ śauṭīro dveṣṭi pāpakaḥ | mantravit kālavic chūraḥ sa mantraṃ śrotum arhati ||
सन्तुष्टः सम्मतः सत्यः शौटीरो द्वेष्टि पापकः । मन्त्रवित् कालविच्छूरः स मन्त्रं श्रोतुमर्हति ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Confidential counsel (mantra) should be shared only with a person of proven character—content, truthful, morally averse to wrongdoing, respected by the virtuous, and capable of sound judgment and timing—because political secrecy is a dharmic responsibility, not merely a strategic tool.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma lays down criteria for who is qualified to be included in secret deliberations, emphasizing ethical reliability and practical discernment as prerequisites for access to sensitive counsel.