ये तीक्ष्णमन्त्राः सचिवा भज्यन्ते सह तेन वै।
विषमे तुरगाः शीघ्रा मन्दसारथयो यथा॥
ye tīkṣṇa-mantrāḥ sacivā bhajyante saha tena vai
viṣame turagāḥ śīghrā manda-sārathayo yathā
ye = who; tīkṣṇa-mantrāḥ = offer cruel counsel [to their king]; sacivāḥ = assistants; bhajyante = perish; saha = with; tena = their king when he accepts their counsel; vai = certainly; viṣame = on uneven lands; turagāḥ = horses; śīghrāḥ = swift; manda-sārathayaḥ = [perish] with their inexpert charioteers; yathā = just as.
Assistants who offer cruel counsel [to their king] certainly perish with their king when he accepts their counsel just as swift horses [perish] with their inexpert charioteers on uneven lands.1
1 Here such assistants are compared to swift horses, kings who accept their cruel counsel to inexpert charioteers and critical situations to uneven lands.