Shloka 12
Mantri-Parīkṣā — Testing Ministers, Securing Counsel, and Ethical Criteria for Advisers (अध्याय ८४)
नैकमिच्छेद् गणं हित्वा स्वाच्चेदन्यतरग्रह: । यस्त्वेको बहुभि: श्रेयान् कामं॑ तेन गणं त्यजेत्
naikam icched gaṇaṁ hitvā svāc ced anyataragrahaḥ | yas tv eko bahubhiḥ śreyān kāmaṁ tena gaṇaṁ tyajet ||
毗湿摩说：“当不得不只择其一时，不应为取一人而舍弃整群之众。然而，若此一人确实在德行与价值上胜过多人，而两者之间又非选不可，则求善之人当为此卓绝之士，舍其众而取其一。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In ethical choice, do not lightly forsake the many for the sake of one; however, when one person’s excellence in virtue and benefit is decisively greater than that of the group, and a single choice is unavoidable, choosing that superior individual is justified.
Bhishma, in his Shanti Parva instruction on dharma and right conduct, offers a principle for weighing alternatives: ordinarily prefer the collective, but allow an exception when a uniquely superior person embodies greater good than the multitude.