Shloka 16
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
नाशयेद् बलबहाणि संनिवासान् निवासयेत् । सदा बह्िनिभ: काम॑ प्रशस्तं कृतमाचरेत् । सर्वतश्नाददेत् प्रज्ञां पतंगं गहनेष्विव
bhīṣma uvāca | nāśayed balavāhāni saṁnivāsān nivāsayet | sadā vahni-nibhaḥ kāmaṁ praśastaṁ kṛtam ācaret | sarvataś cādadet prajñāṁ pataṅgaṁ gahaneṣv iva |
毗湿摩说：“当摧毁敌人力量与机动之源，并为己方建立稳固的营寨与据点。其志其气常如烈火，随其所断，行可称善而有效之事。又当从四方汇聚情报与实用之智；并如蝗群扑入林野，痛击敌军，直至其资财与依凭无一存留。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches a kingly ethic of effective governance and warfare: weaken the enemy’s capacity (especially mobility and resources), secure one’s own bases, act with disciplined energy, and rely on wide-ranging intelligence and counsel—so that action is both strategically sound and aligned with what is ‘praśasta’ (commendable).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and policy, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on practical measures of rule and conflict: consolidate one’s own settlements and encampments, gather intelligence from all directions, and, when necessary in war, strike the enemy decisively—illustrated through similes of fire (forceful energy) and a locust-swarm (total depletion of the foe’s resources).