Shloka 32
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
आशां कालवतीं कुर्यात् तां च विघ्नेन योजयेत् । विध्नं निमित्ततो ब्रूयान्निमित्तं चापि हेतुत:
āśāṃ kālavatīṃ kuryāt tāṃ ca vighnena yojayet | vighnaṃ nimittato brūyān nimittaṃ cāpi hetutaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“君王当使敌人的期望成为一件要耗时的事——将其拖延——继而以障碍缠住它。要把障碍说成出于某种托辞，又把这托辞陈述为合乎情理的缘由。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler may strategically manage an opponent by prolonging the fulfillment of the opponent’s expectations, introducing obstacles, and framing those obstacles with credible pretexts and reasons—an instruction in calculated statecraft (rājanīti).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance, Bhīṣma advises the king on practical methods to weaken an enemy’s plans: delay what the enemy hopes to achieve, create hindrances, and justify them through plausible explanations.