Shloka 13
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
पक्षिणो मृगजातानि रसगन्धा: फलानि च । तेष्वेव सज्जयेथास्त्वं यथा नश्यत्वयं पर:
pakṣiṇo mṛgajātāni rasagandhāḥ phalāni ca | teṣv eva sajjayethās tvaṃ yathā naśyaty ayaṃ paraḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “Mga ibon, sari-saring hayop na hinuhuli, mga masasarap na pagkain at pabango, at mga prutas—ituon mo ang pagkahumaling ng kaaway sa mismong mga ito. Kapag naakit siya sa gayong aliw at magastos na pagkahilig, unti-unting mauubos ang kanyang yaman at lakas, at sa gayon ay guguho siya sa sarili niyang kapahamakan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches a rāja-nīti tactic: instead of open confrontation, weaken an enemy by cultivating his addiction to costly pleasures (luxury goods, entertainments, and indulgences) so that he exhausts his resources and collapses from within.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the prince on governance and strategy. Here he recommends a method of neutralizing an adversary by redirecting the enemy’s mind toward indulgence—birds, animals, delicacies, perfumes, and fruits—so the enemy becomes financially and morally enfeebled and is ruined without direct battle.