Shloka 12

Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā

Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative

Devanagari script

सुमन्त्रितं सुविक्रान्तं सुयुद्धं सुपलायितम्‌ । आपदास्पदकाले तु कुर्वीत न विचारयेत्‌

Transliteration

sumantritaṃ suvikrāntaṃ suyuddhaṃ supalāyitam | āpadāspada-kāle tu kurvīta na vicārayet ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：危难之时，国王当以良策行事，显出卓绝勇武，奋然善战；而若时机所迫，也当有条不紊、巧妙地撤退。危机既至，唯有行其所必行——不容久长踌躇。

Word by Word

• {'sumantritam': 'well-advised

• guided by good counsel/strategy', 'suvikrāntam': 'of excellent prowess

• marked by great valor', 'suyuddham': 'well-fought battle

• fighting properly and effectively', 'supalāyitam': 'good/skillful retreat

• orderly withdrawal (not cowardly flight)', 'āpada': 'calamity, distress, emergency', 'āspada': 'occasion, locus, situation

• a footing/setting', 'kāla': 'time, occasion', 'tu': 'but/indeed (emphatic particle)', 'kurvīta': 'should do

• ought to undertake (optative)', 'na': 'not', 'vicārayet': 'should deliberate/ponder

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• king (rājā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In an emergency, a ruler must act decisively: combine good counsel with courage and effective combat, and if required, execute a strategic retreat. The ethical point is that necessity in crisis demands prompt action rather than prolonged hesitation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Bhishma’s instruction on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, he advises Yudhishthira on how a king should respond when danger suddenly arises—balancing counsel, valor, battle-readiness, and even tactical withdrawal.