Shloka 18
दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity
Rājadharma
पूजयेद् धार्मिकान् राजा निगृह्लीयादधार्मिकान् । नियुज्ज्याच्च प्रयत्नेन सर्ववर्णान् स्वकर्मसु
pūjayed dhārmikān rājā nigṛhṇīyād adhārmikān | niyuñjyāc ca prayatnena sarvavarṇān svakarmasu ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে— ৰজাই ধৰ্মনিষ্ঠ লোকক সন্মান আৰু সহায় কৰিব লাগে, আৰু অধৰ্মত চলা লোকক দমন কৰি দণ্ড দিব লাগে। লগতে তেওঁ যত্নসহকাৰে সকলো বৰ্ণক তেওঁলোকৰ নিজ নিজ কৰ্মত নিয়োজিত কৰিব লাগে, যাতে ৰাজ্য সুসংগঠিত, ন্যায়বান আৰু ধৰ্মানুগত থাকে।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The king’s primary ethical duty is to uphold dharma by rewarding and honoring the righteous, restraining and punishing wrongdoing, and ensuring that society functions through everyone performing their proper duties (svakarma).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on practical governance: how a ruler should treat virtuous and vicious subjects and how to maintain social stability by directing all varṇas toward their prescribed responsibilities.