Shloka 5
Chapter 81: Trust, Allies, and the Qualifications of the King’s Artha-Secretary (अर्थसचिव)
यस्तस्यार्थों न रोचेत न तं तस्य प्रकाशयेत् । धर्माधर्मेण राजानश्नरन्ति विजिगीषव:
yastasyārtho na roceta na taṁ tasya prakāśayet | dharmādharmena rājānaḥ caranti vijigīṣavaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：若某项提议或目的不合那位正直之人的心意，便不应向他泄露。因为志在征服的君王并非只循一途而行：有时依正法而进，有时依非法而动。故真正守法的谋臣——不偏不倚，亦不为酬金而事两主——只应以能经得起义理之光检验的目标去求教。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not place unrighteous or dubious plans before a genuinely dharmic counsellor, because victory-seeking rulers may alternate between dharma and adharma; a righteous adviser should be engaged only in aims that can be pursued ethically.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and counsel, Bhishma explains how rulers driven by conquest may shift between moral and immoral methods, and he advises discretion in what one discloses to a truly righteous person.