Shloka 17
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
अदैवं दैवतं कुर्युर्दैवतं चाप्पदैवतम् । यमिच्छेयु: स राजा स्याद् ये नेष्ट: स पराभवेत्
adaivaṁ daivataṁ kuryur daivataṁ cāpy adaivatam | yam iccheyuḥ sa rājā syād ye neṣṭaḥ sa parābhavet ||
毗湿摩说道：“他们能使非神者显为神圣，也能使真神者失其神性。凡他们欲立者，便为王；凡他们不欲承认为王者，终将败亡。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights how collective influence—courtiers, elites, or the public—can manufacture legitimacy: they can elevate the unworthy as “divine” and diminish the worthy, determining who is accepted as king and who is brought to ruin. The ethical warning is to be wary of power that manipulates reputation and sacred status.
In Bhishma’s instruction on governance and dharma, he comments on the forces that shape royal authority. He observes that a ruler’s rise or fall often depends not only on personal merit but also on the will and endorsement of influential groups who can confer or withdraw recognition.