Shloka 6

मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्

Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition

Devanagari script

ततो धर्मार्थकामानां कुशल: प्रतिभानवान्‌ | राजधर्मविधानज्ञ: प्रत्युवाच पुरंदरम्‌

Transliteration

tato dharmārthakāmānāṁ kuśalaḥ pratibhānavān | rājadharmavidhānajñaḥ pratyuvāca purandaram ||

Translation

Bấy giờ, đáp lại lời thỉnh vấn ấy, Bṛhaspati—bậc tinh thông việc luận giải dharma, artha và kāma, trí tuệ sắc bén, am tường phép tắc của vương đạo—đã trả lời Purandara (Indra) như sau.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)

• धर्मार्थकामानाम्: of dharma, artha, and kāma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म/अर्थ/काम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुशलः: skilled
• कुशलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुशल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रतिभानवान्: brilliant, intelligent
• प्रतिभानवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिभानवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजधर्मविधानज्ञः: knower of the ordinances of royal duty
• राजधर्मविधानज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: राजधर्म/विधान/ज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रत्युवाच: replied, answered
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-√वच्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुरन्दरम्: to Purandara (Indra)
• पुरन्दरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरन्दर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Bṛhaspati
• Indra
• Purandara

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes the authority and scope of the instruction to follow: sound governance (rājadharma) should be articulated by one who understands the balanced aims of life—dharma (ethical order), artha (public welfare and policy), and kāma (regulated desire)—so that political action remains anchored in moral law rather than impulse or mere power.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Indra (called Purandara) asks a question, Bṛhaspati—his preceptor and an expert in royal ethics—begins his reply. Bhīṣma, narrating in the Śānti Parva context, signals a transition into a didactic section on kingship and governance.