Shloka 21
Adhyāya 118: Saciva-parīkṣā
Testing and Appointment of Ministers/Servants
व्याप्रान्नागो मदपटुर्नाग: सिंहत्वमागतः । सिंहस्त्वं बलमापन्नो भूय: शरभतां गत:
vyāprān nāgo madapaṭur nāgaḥ siṁhatvam āgataḥ | siṁhas tvaṁ balam āpanno bhūyaḥ śarabhātāṁ gataḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Mula sa pagiging elepante—balisa at bihasa sa pagngangalit ng panahon ng paglalandi—naging leon ka. At ikaw, nang maging leon at magtamo ng dakilang lakas, ay muling nagpatuloy tungo sa kalagayan ng Śarabha.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the progression into increasingly powerful forms (elephant → lion → śarabha) to imply that the pursuit of sheer strength and dominance can keep intensifying, yet without inner restraint it does not culminate in righteousness. True dharma requires self-mastery, not merely greater power.
Bhishma addresses someone (implicitly a being/person under discussion) by describing a chain of transformations into stronger creatures—first an elephant in rut, then a lion, and then the even mightier śarabha—using this as a moral illustration about the dynamics of power and the dangers of unchecked pride.