Shloka 7

Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa

The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa

Devanagari script

नित्यं रक्षितमन्त्र: स्वाद यथा मूक: शरच्छिखी । श्लक्ष्णाक्षरतनु: श्रीमान्‌ भवेच्छास्त्रविशारद:

Transliteration

nityaṃ rakṣita-mantraḥ svāda-yathā mūkaḥ śaracchikhī | ślakṣṇākṣara-tanuḥ śrīmān bhavec chāstra-viśāradaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：国王应当恒常守护机密谋议，对国政秘事保持沉默——如秋时孔雀不鸣。又当言辞甘美，仪态温和而精致，具足威仪与光彩，并深通诸《沙斯特拉》（śāstra）之学。

Word by Word

• {'nityam': 'always, constantly', 'rakṣita-mantraḥ': 'one whose counsel/secret deliberations are protected

• guarding confidential policy', 'mantra': 'counsel, secret plan, state deliberation (not merely a sacred mantra)', 'mūkaḥ': 'silent, mute', 'śarad': 'autumn season', 'śikhī (śaracchikhī)': 'peacock (lit. ‘crested one’)

• here ‘the autumn-peacock’', 'svāda': 'sweetness

• pleasantness (of speech/utterance)', 'yathā': 'just as', 'ślakṣṇa': 'smooth, gentle, refined', 'akṣara': 'syllable/letter

• speech', 'tanuḥ': 'body

• demeanor', 'śrīmān': 'possessed of splendor, dignity, prosperity', 'bhavet': 'should be, ought to become', 'śāstra-viśāradaḥ': 'expert in the treatises

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājā (the king)
• śaracchikhī (autumn peacock)
• mantra (royal counsel/state secret)
• śāstra (authoritative treatises)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler must practice disciplined silence regarding confidential policy, while cultivating sweet and refined speech, dignified conduct, and strong learning in śāstra—combining discretion with ethical communication and competence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on ideal royal behavior, using the image of the ‘silent autumn peacock’ to stress the protection of state secrets and the king’s cultivated demeanor.