Shloka 158
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तेषु तेषु हि कालेषु तत्तदड़ विशिष्यते । येन यत् सिध्यते कार्य तत् प्राधान्याय कल्पते
teṣu teṣu hi kāleṣu tattad aṅgaṁ viśiṣyate | yena yat sidhyate kāryaṁ tat prādhānyāya kalpate ||
毗湿摩说道：“在不同的时势中，国之诸支各有其特出的重要性。凡能使某事得以成就者，就该为那一事而被视为首要。因此智者不以固定名次论先后，而以时势所需与事功之成败为准。”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Primacy in governance is contextual: among the constituents of a kingdom, whichever factor actually accomplishes the needed task at a given time should be treated as foremost. Effective and ethical rule requires situational judgment rather than rigid hierarchy.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on practical principles of statecraft, explaining that the importance of the kingdom’s constituent elements shifts with circumstances and objectives.