What a Beleaguered King Should Do: Peace, Flight or Battle

Verse 1 (12.131.1)

क्षीणस्य दीर्घसूत्रस्य सानुक्रोशस्य बन्धुषु । परिशङ्कितमुख्यस्य दुष्टमन्त्रस्य भारत ॥

kṣīṇasya dīrghasūtrasya sānukrośasya bandhuṣu | pariśaṅkitamukhyasya duṣṭamantrasya bhārata

Take a king who is spent and slow to act, soft-hearted towards his kinsmen, who distrusts his chief men and whose counsel has gone bad, O Bharata;

Verse 2 (12.131.2)

विरक्तराज्यपौरस्य निर्द्रव्यनिचयस्य च । असंभावितमित्रस्य भिन्नामात्यस्य सर्वतः ॥

viraktarājyapaurasya nirdravyanicayasya ca | asaṃbhāvitamitrasya bhinnāmātyasya sarvataḥ

whose realm and townsmen have turned away from him, whose store of wealth is empty, whose friends cannot be counted on, and whose ministers are divided on every side;

Verse 3 (12.131.3)

परचक्राभियातस्य दुर्बलस्य बलीयसा । आपन्नचेतसो ब्रूहि किं कार्यमवशिष्यते ॥

paracakrābhiyātasya durbalasya balīyasā | āpannacetaso brūhi kiṃ kāryamavaśiṣyate

who has been attacked by an enemy army, weak against a stronger foe, his mind overwhelmed by distress - tell me, what remains for him to do?

Verse 4 (12.131.4)

बाह्यश्चेद्विजिगीषुः स्याद्धर्मार्थकुशलः शुचिः । जवेन सन्धिं कुर्वीत पूर्वं पूर्वं विमोक्षयेत् ॥

bāhyaścedvijigīṣuḥ syāddharmārthakuśalaḥ śuciḥ | javena sandhiṃ kurvīta pūrvaṃ pūrvaṃ vimokṣayet

If the outside king who seeks conquest is skilled in dharma and profit and is pure, he should make peace swiftly, freeing one thing after another, beginning with the earliest.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading भीष्म उवाच (12-131-4x); CE 12.129.4. Line 2 has पूर्वं पूर्वं विमोक्षयेत् for CE pūrvān pūrvān vimokṣayan, a recension variant, kept.

Verse 5 (12.131.5)

योऽधर्मविजिगीषुः स्याद्बलवान्पापनिश्चयः । आत्मनः सन्निरोधेन सन्धिं तेनापि रोचयेत् ॥

yo'dharmavijigīṣuḥ syādbalavānpāpaniścayaḥ | ātmanaḥ sannirodhena sandhiṃ tenāpi rocayet

But if the one who seeks conquest is unrighteous, strong and set on evil, even with him he should seek a peace, by holding himself in check.

Note on the text: Removed the square brackets Wikisource prints round line 1 and the stray daṇḍa after them. Line 1 (योऽधर्मविजिगीषुः स्याद्…) is a recension variant of CE 12.129.5a (adharmavijigīṣuś ced balavān pāpaniścayaḥ), kept; line 2 is CE 12.129.5c.

Verse 6 (12.131.6)

अपास्य राजधानीं वा तरेदन्येन वाऽऽपदम् । तद्भावभावो द्रव्याणि जीवन्पुनरुपार्जयेत् ॥

apāsya rājadhānīṃ vā taredanyena vā''padam | tadbhāvabhāvo dravyāṇi jīvanpunarupārjayet

Or he may abandon his capital and cross the calamity by some other means; when that state of affairs is past, so long as he lives he can earn his wealth again.

Verse 7 (12.131.7)

यास्तु कोशबलत्यागाच्छक्यास्तरितुमापदः । कस्तत्राधिकमात्मानं संत्यजेदर्थधर्मवित् ॥

yāstu kośabalatyāgācchakyāstaritumāpadaḥ | kastatrādhikamātmānaṃ saṃtyajedarthadharmavit

When there are calamities that can be crossed simply by giving up the treasury and the army, what man who knows profit and dharma would give up something more - his very self?

Verse 8 (12.131.8)

अपराधाज्जुगुप्सेत का सपत्नधने दया । न त्वेवात्मा प्रदातव्यः शक्ये सति कथंचन ॥

aparādhājjugupseta kā sapatnadhane dayā | na tvevātmā pradātavyaḥ śakye sati kathaṃcana

He should shrink from offence; but what pity is there for an enemy's wealth? Yet in no case should the self be given up, when it can be saved.

Note on the text: Line 1 has अपराधाज्जुगुप्सेत for CE avarodhāj jugupseta, a recension variant, kept.

Verse 9 (12.131.9)

आभ्यन्तरे च कुपिते बाह्ये चोपनिपीडिते । क्षीणे कोशे श्रुते मन्त्रे किं कार्यमवशिष्यते ॥

ābhyantare ca kupite bāhye copanipīḍite | kṣīṇe kośe śrute mantre kiṃ kāryamavaśiṣyate

When trouble is rising within the kingdom and the outside is hard pressed, when the treasury is drained and counsel has been leaked, what remains to be done?

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading युधिष्ठिर उवाच (12-131-9x); CE 12.129.9.

Verse 10 (12.131.10)

क्षिप्रं वा सन्धिकामः स्यात्क्षिप्रं वा तीक्ष्णविक्रमः । यदाऽपनयनं क्षिप्रमेतद्वै सांपरायिकम् ॥

kṣipraṃ vā sandhikāmaḥ syātkṣipraṃ vā tīkṣṇavikramaḥ | yadā'panayanaṃ kṣiprametadvai sāṃparāyikam

Either let him quickly seek peace, or quickly show fierce valour; and when he must withdraw, let it be done quickly - this indeed is what belongs to the decisive struggle.

Note on the text: Speaker per the page's heading भीष्म उवाच (12-131-10x). Corrected तीक्ष्णविक्रम → तीक्ष्णविक्रमः (misprint in Wikisource; the visarga is dropped, leaving the subject-less vocative; CE tīkṣṇavikramaḥ). Line 2 (यदाऽपनयनं क्षिप्रमेतद्वै सांपरायिकम्) is a recension variant of CE 10c (padāpanayanaṃ kṣipram etāvat sāṃparāyikam), kept.

Verse 11 (12.131.11)

अनुरक्तेन पुष्टेन हृष्टेन जगतीपतिः । अल्पेनापि स्वसैन्येन भूमिं जयति भूमिपः ॥

anuraktena puṣṭena hṛṣṭena jagatīpatiḥ | alpenāpi svasainyena bhūmiṃ jayati bhūmipaḥ

With followers who are devoted, well fed and cheerful, O lord of the earth, a king can win the earth even with a small army of his own.

Verse 12 (12.131.12)

हतो वा दिवमारोहेद्धत्वा च सुखमावहेत् । युद्धे हि संत्यजन्प्राणाञ्शक्रस्यैति सलोकताम् ॥

hato vā divamāroheddhatvā ca sukhamāvahet | yuddhe hi saṃtyajanprāṇāñśakrasyaiti salokatām

Slain, he rises to heaven; or, having slain, he wins happiness; for one who gives up his life in battle reaches the same world as Indra.

Verse 13 (12.131.13)

सर्वलोकागसं कृत्वा मृदुत्वं गन्तुमेव च । विश्वासाद्विनयं कुर्यात्संजह्याद्वाऽप्युपानहौ ॥

sarvalokāgasaṃ kṛtvā mṛdutvaṃ gantumeva ca | viśvāsādvinayaṃ kuryātsaṃjahyādvā'pyupānahau

Having given offence to all the world, he should yet turn to gentleness; out of trust he should show humility, or even give up his sandals.

Note on the text: Wikisource's lines differ from CE 12.129.13 (sarvalokāgamaṃ kṛtvā mṛdutvaṃ gantum eva ca / viśvāsād vinayaṃ kuryād vyavasyed vāpy upānahau): सर्वलोकागसं for sarvalokāgamaṃ and संजह्यात् for vyavasyet are recension variants, kept.

Verse 14 (12.131.14)

अपचिक्रमिषुः क्षिप्रं सेनां स्वां परिसान्त्वयन् । विलङ्घयित्वा सत्रेण ततः स्वयमुपक्रमेत् ॥

apacikramiṣuḥ kṣipraṃ senāṃ svāṃ parisāntvayan | vilaṅghayitvā satreṇa tataḥ svayamupakramet

Wishing to withdraw, he should quickly reassure his own army, and, having got clear by a ruse, then take the field himself.

Note on the text: The alignment found no match, but the verse is a recension variant of CE 12.129.14 (apakramitum icched vā yathākāmaṃ tu sāntvayet / viliṅgamitvā mitreṇa tataḥ svayam upakramet); the wording differs in both lines (सेनां स्वां परिसान्त्वयन्, सत्रेण for mitreṇa), kept. The page ends with its colophon (adhyaya 131); only Wikisource's commentary glosses follow, not added.