Sutra 8

Devanagari script

यथा लीनः सर्पो यस्माद्भयं पश्यति तत्र विषमुत्सृजति एवमयं राजा जातदोषाशङ्कस्त्वयि पुरा क्रोधविषमुत्सृजति अन्यत्र गम्यतामिति भीतवर्गं उपजापयेत् ॥ कZ_०१.१४.०८ ॥

Transliteration

yathā līnaḥ sarpo yasmād bhayaṃ paśyati tatra viṣam utsṛjati evam ayaṃ rājā jātadoṣāśaṅkas tvayi purā krodhaviṣam utsṛjati anyatra gamyatām iti bhītavargaṃ upajāpayet

Translation

Như con rắn ẩn mình phóng nọc về phía điều nó sợ, cũng vậy vị vua này—nghi ngờ rằng bạn có lỗi—sớm muộn sẽ trút “nọc độc của cơn giận” lên bạn. Hãy đi nơi khác: như vậy nên mua chuộc nhóm người sợ hãi.

Word by Word

यथाjust as; as

लीनःhidden; lying concealed

सर्पःa snake

यस्मात्from whom/which; because of which

भयम्fear

पश्यतिsees

तत्रthere; in that place/at that point

विषम्poison

उत्सृजतिreleases; emits; lets out

एवम्thus; in the same way

अयम्this (person)

राजाthe king

जातarisen; produced

दोषfault; defect

आशङ्कःsuspecting (danger) due to an arisen fault; apprehensive

त्वयिin/against you

पुराformerly; earlier

क्रोधanger

विषम्poison

उत्सृजतिreleases; vents; lets out

अन्यत्रelsewhere; in another place

गम्यताम्let (one) go; one should depart

इतिthus; ‘so’ (quotative)

भीतfrightened

वर्गम्the frightened group/faction

उपजापयेत्should secretly persuade/indoctrinate; should win over by insinuation

Entities Mentioned

bhītavarga (fearful faction)

rājā (king)

FAQs

What is the operational logic of persuading the fearful to ‘go elsewhere’?

It converts self-preservation into political movement—exit, defection, or collaboration—before the ruler acts against them.

What governance failure is implied by ‘jātadoṣaśaṅkā’?

A climate of suspicion where perceived disloyalty triggers punitive action, making the court unstable and defections more likely.