Shloka 15
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
तथैवात्युदकाद् भीतस्तस्य भेदनमिच्छति । यमेवंलक्षणं विद्यात् तममित्र विनिर्दिशेत्
tathaivātyudakād bhītastasya bhedanam icchati | yam evaṃlakṣaṇaṃ vidyāt tam amitraṃ vinirdiśet ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Gayundin, ang taong natatakot sapagkat napuno ng labis na tubig ang kanyang bukid at nagnanais basagin ang pilapil upang ilabas ito—kilalanin ang may ganitong palatandaan at ituring siyang kaaway. Sapagkat kung ang tagapagbantay ng hanggahan ng kaharian ang siyang sumira sa hanggahan, maaaring dumating ang panganib sa nasasakupan; kaya siya man ay dapat ituring na kaaway.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person entrusted with protecting boundaries or safeguards becomes especially dangerous if he himself breaches them; betrayal by a guardian is a clear sign of enmity and must be treated as a security threat.
Bhishma uses a practical agrarian analogy: when a field floods, a frightened farmer may want to break the embankment to release water. He applies this to governance—if a kingdom’s boundary-keeper breaks the boundary, it invites peril, so such a person should be identified as an enemy.