Shloka 15
Adhyāya 128 — Proposal to Restrain Keśava; Sātyaki’s Warning and Vidura–Dhṛtarāṣṭra Counsel
या हि शक््या महाराज साम्ना भेदेन वा पुन: । निस्तर्तुमापद: स्वेषु दण्डं कस्तत्र पातयेत्
yā hi śakyā mahārāja sāmnā bhedena vā punaḥ | nistartum āpadaḥ sveṣu daṇḍaṃ kas tatra pātayet ||
毗舍波耶那说道：“大王啊，若自家之中所起的危难，能够以和解安抚（sāma）或以审慎的分化与交涉（bheda）来渡过，又有谁会在此对自己人动用刑罚呢？”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should prefer non-violent, policy-based remedies—conciliation (sāman) or strategic negotiation/division (bheda)—to handle troubles within one’s own people; punishment (daṇḍa) is ethically and politically inappropriate when gentler means can resolve the crisis.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating to the king, articulates a principle of statecraft: internal discord among one’s own should not be met with harsh coercion when it can be managed through diplomacy, since visible fractures among kin invite enemy ridicule and weaken the polity.