[25] Ascertaining the efficiency, and weakness, and indifference
of thy forces, as also who amongst them are well-affected and who are
disaffected, we should either fight the foe or make treaty with him.
Having recourse to the arts of conciliation, disunion, chastisement,
bribery, presents and fair behaviour, attack thy foes and subdue the
weak by might, and win over thy allies and troops and by soft speeches.
When thou hast (by these means) strengthened thy army and filled thy
treasury, entire success will be thine. When thou hast done all this,
thou wilt be able to fight with powerful enemies that may present
themselves, let alone the sons of Pandu deficient in troops and animals
of their own. By adopting all these expedients according to the customs
of thy order, thou wilt, O foremost of men, attain enduring happiness in
due time!'"
[23] The word _tirtha_ here means, as Nilakantha rightly
explains spies and not holy spots.
[24] _Satram_ is explained by Nilakantha to mean here 'false
disguise.' I think, however, such an interpretation to be
far-fetched. It evidently means 'forest',--the use of
'pravisteshu' in connection with it almost settles the point.
[25] This sloka is not correctly printed in any of the texts
that I have seen. The reading that I adopt is that the second
word is the participle of the root _budh_ and not the
instrumental of _budhi_; the last word again of the second line
is a compound of _valavatsu_ and _avaleshu_ instead of (as
printed in many books) _valavatswavaleshu_.
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