Shloka 123
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिदस्त्राणि सर्वाणि ब्रह्मुदण्डश्व॒ तेडनघ । विषयोगास्तथा सर्वे विदिता: शत्रुनाशना:,निष्पाप नरेश! तुम्हें सब प्रकारके अस्त्र (जो मन्त्रबलसे प्रयुक्त होते हैं), वेदोक्त दण्ड-विधान तथा शत्रुओंका नाश करनेवाले सब प्रकारके विषप्रयोग ज्ञात हैं न?
kaccid astrāṇi sarvāṇi brahmadaṇḍaś ca te 'nagha | viṣayogās tathā sarve viditāḥ śatrunāśanāḥ ||
قال نارادا: «أيها البريء من الدنس، هل تعلمتَ جميع الأسلحة—تلك التي تُستعمل بقوة المانترا—وكذلك العلوم التي يُقرّها الفيدا في باب العقوبة والردع؟ وهل تعرف أيضًا كل طرائق استعمال السموم التي تُهلك الأعداء؟»
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal competence as comprehensive knowledge of force and restraint: mastery of mantra-weapons and Veda-sanctioned punishment (brahmadaṇḍa) is expected, yet it also raises an ethical tension by including poison-techniques—implying that a ruler must understand even morally dangerous means, while dharma determines whether and how such means may be used.
Nārada addresses a king (vocatively ‘anagha’) and tests his preparedness for rule and conflict by asking whether he has learned all categories of weapons, the orthodox principles of punitive governance, and even enemy-destroying poison applications—probing the breadth of his training in kṣātra and rājadharma.