Shloka 18
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
कोशस्योपार्जनरतिर्यमवैश्रवणोपम: । वेत्ता च दशवर्गस्य स्थानवृद्धिक्षयात्मन:
bhīṣma uvāca | kośasyopārjanaratir yama-vaiśravaṇopamaḥ | vettā ca daśa-vargasya sthāna-vṛddhi-kṣayātmanaḥ ||
قال بهيشما: ينبغي للملك أن يلازم السعي إلى تحصيل الخزانة وصونها ممتلئة—في إقامة العدل يكون كـ«ياما»، وفي جمع المال يكون كـ«فايشرافانا» (كوبيرا). وعليه أيضاً أن يحيط علماً بالعوامل العشرة التي تضبط موضع المملكة على وجهه الصحيح، ونماءها، وانحطاطها.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must balance two royal obligations: impartial justice (modeled on Yama) and prudent wealth-management and revenue-building (modeled on Kubera), while also mastering the key analytical categories that explain a kingdom’s stability, growth, and decline.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira on practical kingship—emphasizing the treasury as the backbone of governance, the necessity of strict fairness in punishment and adjudication, and systematic knowledge of the factors that affect the state’s fortunes.