Mahabharata · Chapter 12.94
ayuddhenaiva vijayaṃ vardhayedvasudhādhipaḥ /
jaghanyamāhurvijayaṃ yuddhena ca narādhipa //
na cāpyalabdhaṃ lipseta mūle nātidṛḍhe sati /
na hi durbalamūlasya rājño lābho vivardhate //
yasya sphīto janapadaḥ sampannapriyarājakaḥ /
santuṣṭaḥ puṣṭasacivo dṛḍhamūlaḥ sa pārthivaḥ //
yasya yodhāḥ susantuṣṭāḥ svanuraktāḥ supūjitāḥ /
alpenāpi sa daṇḍena mahīṃ jayati pārthivaḥ //
daṇḍo hi balavānyatra tatra sāma prayujyate /
pradānaṃ sāmapūrvaṃ ca bhedamūlaṃ praśasyate //
trayāṇāṃ viphalaṃ karma yadā paśyeta bhūmipaḥ /
randhraṃ jñātvā tato daṇḍaṃ prayuñjītāvicārayan //
abhibhūto yadā śatruḥ śatrubhirbalavattaraiḥ /
upekṣā tatra kartavyā vadhyatā balināṃ balam //
durbalo hi mahīpālo yadā bhavati bhārata / upekṣā tatra kartavyā caturṇāmavirodhīni /
upāyaḥ pañcamaḥ so'pi sarveṣāṃ balavattaraḥ //
bhārgaveṇa ca gītānāṃ ślokānāṃ kosalādhipa /
vijñāya tatvaṃ tatvajña tatvatastatkariṣyati //
yadi rakṣaḥpiśācena hanyate yatrakutracit /
upekṣā tatra kartavyā vācyatāṃ balināṃ balam //
durbalo'pi mahīpāla śatrūṇāṃ śatrumuddharet /
pādalagnaṃ karasthena kaṇṭakenaiva kaṇṭakam //
śaṭhānāṃ ucivānāṃ ca mlecchānāṃ ca mahīpate /
eṣa ukta upāyānāmupekṣā balavattama //
aśmanā nāśayellohaṃ lohenāśmānameva tu /
bilvāni vā parairbilvairmlecchairmlecchānprasādayet //
dāsānāṃ ca pradṛptānāmetadeva hi kārayet / caṇḍālamlecchajātīnāṃ daṇḍenaiva nivāraṇam /
śaṭhānāṃ durvinītaiśca pūrvamuktaṃ samācaret //
antyāḥ śaṭhāśca sacivāstathā kubrāhmaṇādayaḥ /
upāyaiḥ pañcabhiḥ sādhyāścaturvargavirodhinaḥ //
paurajānapadā yasya svanuraktā apīḍitāḥ /
rāṣṭrakarmakarā hyete rāṣṭrasya ca virodhinaḥ //
durvinītā vinītāśca sarve sādhyāḥ prayatnataḥ / caṇḍālamlecchajātyāśca pāṣaṇḍāśca vikarmiṇaḥ /
balinaścāśramāścaiva tathā gāyakanartakāḥ //
paurajānapadā yasya bhūteṣu ca dayālavaḥ /
sadhanā dhānyavantaśca dṛḍhamūlaḥ sa pārthivaḥ //
pratāpakālamadhikaṃ yadā manyeta cātmanaḥ /
tadā lipseta medhāvī parabhūmidhanānyuta //
bhogeṣūdayamānasya bhūteṣu ca dayāvataḥ /
vardhate tvaramāṇasya viṣayo rakṣitātmanaḥ //
takṣedātmānamevaṃ sa vanaṃ paraśunā yathā /
yaḥ samyagvartamāneṣu sveṣu mithyā pravartate //
naiva dviṣanto hīyante rājño nityamanighnataḥ /
krodhaṃ nihantuṃ yo veda tasya dveṣṭā na vidyate //
yadāryajanavidviṣṭaṃ karma tannācaredbudhaḥ /
yatkalyāṇamabhidhyāyettatrātmānaṃ niyojayet //
naivamanye'vajānanti nātmanā paritapyate /
kṛtyaśeṣeṇa yo rājā sukhānyanububhūṣati //
idaṃ vṛttaṃ manuṣyeṣu vartate yo mahīpatiḥ /
ubhau lokau vinirjitya vijaye sampratiṣṭhate //
bhīṣma uvāca /
ityukto vāmadevena sarvaṃ tatkṛtavānnṛpaḥ /
tathā kurvaṃstvamapyetau lokaujetā na saṃśayaḥ //
Original text: Mahābhārata (southern recension) · Edition: Śrīman Mahābhāratam, ed. T. R. Krishnacharya and T. R. Vyasacharya, Nirnaya Sagar Press, Bombay 1906–1910; e-text by SARIT (Shrinivasa Varakhedi and others) · SARIT: Search and Retrieval of Indic Texts · SARIT (e-text) via Internet Archive · CC BY-SA 3.0