Shloka 24
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
अपि त्यागं बुभूषेत कच्चिद् गच्छेदनामयम् । सिद्धेनौषधियोगेन सर्वशत्रुविनाशिना । नागानश्चान् मनुष्यांश्न कृतकैरुपघातयेत्
api tyāgaṁ bubhūṣet kaccid gacched anāmayam | siddhenauṣadhi-yogena sarva-śatru-vināśinā | nāgān aśvān manuṣyāṁś ca kṛtakair upaghātayet |
دیکھو کہ کیا وہ ترکِ سلطنت کی خواہش کرتا ہے اور کیا وہ بےمرض و بےخلل اپنے راج سے نکل سکتا ہے۔ اگر بےرغبتی پیدا نہ ہو تو آزمودہ، ہمہ دشمن کُش دوا-یوگ کے ذریعے (مقررہ آدمیوں سے) مصنوعی تدبیروں کے ساتھ دشمن کے ہاتھیوں، گھوڑوں اور آدمیوں کو ہلاک کروا دینا چاہیے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a layered strategy: first attempt a non-violent resolution by inducing the hostile king toward renunciation through moral exempla (suffering of the great and glory of the yogic, virtuous). Only if that fails does it propose covert, destructive measures—highlighting the tension in rājadharma between ethical persuasion and ruthless statecraft.
Bhīṣma is instructing on how to neutralize an enemy ruler: try to make him abandon his kingdom willingly by influencing his mind toward vairāgya (detachment). If he remains unmoved, then use appointed agents and a ‘perfected’ medicinal method to eliminate the enemy’s military assets—elephants, horses, and soldiers.