Shloka 161

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

पुनश्च रिपुरद्यैव युक्तीनां पश्य चापलम्‌ । “मित्रता और शत्रुताके रूप तो बादलोंके समान क्षण-क्षणमें बदलते रहते हैं। आज ही तुम मेरे शत्रु होकर फिर आज ही मेरे मित्र हो सकते हो और उसके बाद आज ही पुनः शत्रु भी बन सकते हो। देखो, यह स्वार्थका सम्बन्ध कितना चंचल है? ।।

Transliteration

punaś ca ripur adyaiva yuktīnāṃ paśya cāpalam | āsīn maitrī tu tāvannau yāvad hetur abhūt purā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“再者，且看权谋算计何其轻佻反复：一人今日为敌，竟可在同一日转为朋友；又可在同一日再度化为仇敌。以私利为基的纽带何其不稳！我与你的友谊，不过在先前那因缘尚存之时才得以维系。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'punaḥ (punaś ca)', 'meaning': 'again

• moreover'}, {'term': 'ripuḥ', 'meaning': 'enemy'}, {'term': 'adyaiva', 'meaning': 'today itself

• this very day'}, {'term': 'yukti', 'meaning': 'device, stratagem

• policy, calculated means'}, {'term': 'yuktīnām', 'meaning': 'of policies/stratagems (genitive plural)'}, {'term': 'paśya', 'meaning': 'see

• observe (imperative)'}, {'term': 'cāpalam', 'meaning': 'fickleness, instability, inconstancy'}, {'term': 'āsīt', 'meaning': 'was

• existed'}, {'term': 'maitrī', 'meaning': 'friendship, alliance'}, {'term': 'tāvat', 'meaning': 'so long

• only up to that point'}, {'term': 'nau', 'meaning': 'of us two

• for the two of us (dual pronoun)'}, {'term': 'yāvat', 'meaning': 'as long as

• while'}, {'term': 'hetuḥ', 'meaning': 'cause, motive, reason'}, {'term': 'abhūt', 'meaning': 'came to be

• existed (aorist)'}, {'term': 'purā', 'meaning': 'formerly

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma warns that alliances based on expediency (yukti) and self-interest are inherently unstable: the same person can shift from enemy to friend and back again quickly. Therefore, one should not treat such relationships as enduring or morally reliable.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and polity, Bhishma is advising about the volatility of political relationships. He notes that friendship between parties lasts only as long as the motivating cause remains, emphasizing the changing nature of alliances.