Shloka 13
आपद्धर्मे राज्ञः नीतिः — Bharadvāja’s Counsel on Crisis-Statecraft (Śānti Parva 138)
विलोड्यमाने तस्मिंस्तु खुततोये जलाशये । अगच्छद् बन्धन तत्र दीर्घसूत्र: सहापरैः,जिसका पानी बाहर निकल चुका था, वह जलाशय जब मथा जाने लगा, तब दीर्घ॑सूत्री भी दूसरे मत्स्योंके साथ जालमें फँस गया
viloḍyamāne tasmiṃs tu khutatoye jalāśaye | agacchad bandhanaṃ tatra dīrghasūtraḥ sahāparaiḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: Nang ang lawa—na ang tubig ay halos naubos na—ay halukayin at guluhin, si Dīrghasūtra man, kasama ng iba pang isda, ay napasok sa pagkakabihag, sapagkat siya’y nasilo sa lambat.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
One should act with timely discernment: when danger-signs are evident (the pond already drained), delaying action leads to bondage. Procrastination turns a manageable risk into inevitable capture.
A pond whose water has already been removed is then churned/dragged (as by fishermen). In that disturbance, the fish named Dīrghasūtra, along with others, gets caught in the net and falls into captivity.