Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 24
Nīti-upadeśa to a Rājaputra: Self-restraint, Alliances, and Rival-Management (नीतिउपदेशः)
अपि त्यागं बुभूषेत कच्चिद् गच्छेदनामयम् । सिद्धेनौषधियोगेन सर्वशत्रुविनाशिना । नागानश्चान् मनुष्यांश्न कृतकैरुपघातयेत्
api tyāgaṁ bubhūṣet kaccid gacched anāmayam | siddhenauṣadhi-yogena sarva-śatru-vināśinā | nāgān aśvān manuṣyāṁś ca kṛtakair upaghātayet |
毗湿摩说道：“当察看能否使他生起出离之愿，能否令他无病无扰地离开其国。你当在那王面前，陈说一位真正伟大之人受苦的可怜境况，又当宣扬通晓瑜伽戒律之善魂的荣光，使敌王因此而愿弃其邦。然若他仍安住本性，离欲不生，则当借你所任命的使者，施用已臻圆满、传言能灭尽诸敌的药术，使敌方之象、马与人被杀。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a layered strategy: first attempt a non-violent resolution by inducing the hostile king toward renunciation through moral exempla (suffering of the great and glory of the yogic, virtuous). Only if that fails does it propose covert, destructive measures—highlighting the tension in rājadharma between ethical persuasion and ruthless statecraft.
Bhīṣma is instructing on how to neutralize an enemy ruler: try to make him abandon his kingdom willingly by influencing his mind toward vairāgya (detachment). If he remains unmoved, then use appointed agents and a ‘perfected’ medicinal method to eliminate the enemy’s military assets—elephants, horses, and soldiers.