Shloka 56
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
न वामना: कुब्जकृशा न खञ्जा नान्धो जड: स्त्री च नपुंसकं च | नचात्र तिर्यक् च पुरो न पश्चा- न्नोर्ध॑न चाध: प्रचरेत् कथंचित्,जहाँ गुप्त विचार किया जाता हो, वहाँ या उसके अगल-बगल, आगे-पीछे और ऊपर- नीचे भी किसी तरह बौने, कुबड़े, दुबले, लँगड़े, अन्धे, गूँगे, स्त्री और हीजड़े--ये न आने पावें
na vāmanāḥ kubja-kṛśā na khañjā nāndho jaḍaḥ strī ca napuṁsakaṁ ca | nacātra tiryak ca puro na paścān nordhvaṁ ca adhaḥ pracaret kathaṁcit yatra gupta-vicāraḥ kriyate ||
Bhīṣma said: “Where confidential deliberation is being conducted, one should not allow—either there or in its immediate vicinity—dwarfs, hunchbacks, the emaciated, the lame, the blind, the dull-witted, women, or eunuchs to move about in any way; nor should anyone be permitted to pass across, in front, behind, above, or below. Thus secrecy in counsel is to be protected.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the protection of confidential deliberation: a ruler’s counsel must be guarded by controlling access and movement around the place of secret discussion, so that strategy and policy are not exposed.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (kingly duties). Here he gives a practical rule of statecraft: ensure strict privacy around secret consultations by preventing people from approaching or passing nearby in any direction.