Shloka 8

अविश्वास-निति: ब्रह्मदत्त–पूजनी-संवादः

Policy of Caution: The Brahmadatta–Pūjanī Dialogue

Devanagari script

तथा तथा जयेल्लोकान्‌ शक्‍्त्या चैव यथा यथा | उद्धिज्जा जन्तवो यद्वधच्छुक्लजीवा यथा यथा

Transliteration

tathā tathā jayel lokān śaktyā caiva yathā yathā | udbhijjā jantavo yadvad acchuklajīvā yathā yathā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“通晓达摩之王，当量其自身之力，循序渐进而征服诸国诸民——正如‘优陀毗阇’之类（草木等由地而生者）依其本有之势而滋长蔓延。又如微细虫豸无明显因由而忽然滋生，王国之中亦会无端出现不行祭祀、违背本分之人。故王当以对付蚊蚋、蠓虫、蚁类等害虫之法，处置那些反对善行者，使达摩得以扶持而兴盛。”

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• तथा: so, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• जयेत्: should conquer
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि
• Form: Vidhi-linga, optative, 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• लोकान्: worlds/realms/peoples
• लोकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• शक्त्या: by (one's) power
• शक्त्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति
• Form: feminine, instrumental, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• यथा: as, according as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• यथा: so, in whatever way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• उद्भिज्जाः: sprouting-born (plants/trees etc.)
• उद्भिज्जाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्भिज्ज
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• जन्तवः: creatures, beings
• जन्तवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• यद्वत्: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत्

• अच्छुक्लजीवाः: tiny pale/whitish living creatures (worms/insects)
• अच्छुक्लजीवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अच्छुक्लजीव
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• यथा: as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• यथा: in whatever manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• king (rājā)
• lokāḥ (realms/peoples)
• udbhijja jantavaḥ (plants/vegetation)
• kīṭāḥ (mosquitoes, gnats, ants—pests)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king should expand and act only in proportion to his actual capacity, and he must restrain or remove those who oppose righteous conduct; firm governance is presented as necessary for the protection and spread of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises the king (Yudhishthira in context) about measured conquest and the need to deal decisively with disruptive, duty-opposed elements within the kingdom, using analogies from natural growth and the spontaneous appearance of pests.