Shloka 32
मृदु-तीक्ष्ण-नीति तथा दुष्टलक्षण-विज्ञानम्
Measured Policy and the Recognition of Malicious Disposition
न हाातो दुष्करं कर्म किंचिदस्ति सुरोत्तम । यथा विविधवृत्तानामैश्वर्यममराधिप
na hi ato duṣkaraṁ karma kiñcid asti surottama | yathā vividhavṛttānām aiśvaryam amarādhipa devēśvara suraśreṣṭha ||
毗湿摩说道：“噢，诸天之最胜者！世间再无比此更难之事：对性情各异、行止多端之人行使王权与主宰。统御这些通晓世故、心思纷纭之众，比任何事业都更为艰巨。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the hardest duty of a ruler is not conquest or ritual, but the ethical and practical challenge of governing people with varied dispositions and behaviors; true sovereignty requires discernment, restraint, and skill in dealing with diversity.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and, by invoking epithets of the lord of the gods (Indra), emphasizes that administering power over a heterogeneous society is an exceptionally difficult responsibility.