Shloka 70
Śaraṇāgatapālana—Prastāvanā
Protection of the Refuge-Seeker: Opening of the Kapota Narrative
“जिसके पार न उतर सके, उस नदीको तैरनेका साहस न करे। जिसको शत्रु पुनः बलपूर्वक वापस ले सके ऐसे धनका अपहरण ही न करे। ऐसे वृक्ष या शत्रुको खोदने या नष्ट करनेकी चेष्टा न करे जिसकी जड़को उखाड़ फेंकना सम्भव न हो सके तथा उस वीरपर आघात न करे, जिसका मस्तक काटकर धरतीपर गिरा न सके ।।
yasya pāraṁ na tarituṁ śakyaṁ tāṁ nadīṁ tarituṁ sāhasaṁ na kuryāt | yaṁ śatruḥ punar balāt pratyānayituṁ śaknoti tādṛśasya dhanasya apaharaṇaṁ na kuryāt | yasya mūlaṁ samūlam uddhartum aśakyaṁ tādṛśaṁ vṛkṣaṁ (vā śatruṁ) khanitvā nāśayituṁ ceṣṭāṁ na kuryāt | yaṁ vīraṁ śiraś chettvā bhūmau pātayituṁ na śaknoti tasmin na prahāraṁ kuryāt || iti idam uktaṁ vṛjinābhi-saṁhitaṁ na ca etad evaṁ puruṣaḥ samācaret | para-prayukte na kathaṁ vibhāvayet—tato mayoktaṁ bhavato hitārthinā ||
毗湿摩说道：“不可妄渡不能抵达彼岸之河；不可夺取敌人尚能以力夺回之财；不可掘毁不能拔尽其根之树——亦不可轻动那等敌人；更不可加害于一位勇士，若你不能斩其首而掷之于地。此言虽及对敌之罪行，然有能之人于安泰富足之时，切不可行之。然而若敌人正以此等手段使你陷于危难，为求对治，何以不思以其道还治其身？我为汝之利益，故尽言于此。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not begin actions you cannot carry through to a decisive end—whether crossing a danger, seizing wealth, uprooting a threat, or striking a powerful foe. Such harsh, even sinful tactics are not to be used in normal, prosperous times; but if an enemy initiates such methods and creates peril, one may consider the same measures as defensive counteraction.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and conduct, Bhishma addresses the listener with strategic-ethical counsel: he lists examples of ill-judged aggression and then clarifies that he is not endorsing wrongdoing as a default, but explaining retaliatory options when an adversary has already adopted unscrupulous tactics.