Shloka 23
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
ततो गच्छसि सिद्धार्थ:पीड्यमानं महाजनम् | योगधर्मविदं पुण्यं कंचिदस्योपवर्णयेत्
tato gacchasi siddhārthaḥ pīḍyamānaṁ mahājanam | yogadharmavidaṁ puṇyaṁ kaṁcid asyopavarṇayet ||
毗湿摩说道：“如此，你便可在目的达成后离去。其后，当着那位国王之面，你应陈述被压迫的百姓所受之苦，又当称扬某位通晓瑜伽之法的贤德之士。借此描绘，敌国之王或将动念，愿舍弃其国。 （倘若他仍固守本性，离欲之心不生，则当由你所委任之人，施用一种已被证验、号称能灭尽诸敌的药术，使敌方的象、马与士卒丧命。）”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames a strategy of moral persuasion: first move a hostile ruler by showing the suffering of the people and by praising a virtuous exemplar of yoga-dharma, so that renunciation or restraint may arise. The passage also reflects the tension in raja-dharma between ethical suasion and harsher measures when persuasion fails.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and policy, Bhishma advises how to influence an enemy king: narrate public suffering and highlight the greatness of a righteous, disciplined person to induce the enemy to abandon his claim. The accompanying prose context (as in the provided Hindi) continues with an escalation plan if the king remains unmoved.