Shloka 28
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
तस्मात् तीक्षण: प्रजा राजा स्वधर्मे स्थापयेत् ततः । अन्योन्यं भक्षयन्तो हि प्रचरेयुर्वका इव
tasmāt tīkṣṇaḥ prajā rājā svadharme sthāpayet tataḥ | anyonyaṁ bhakṣayanto hi pracareyur vakā iva ||
অতএব কঠোর ও দৃঢ় রাজা প্রজাদের নিজ নিজ স্বধর্মে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করবেন; নচেৎ তারা নেকড়ের মতো পরস্পরকে গ্রাস করতে করতে, লুটপাট করে অবাধে ঘুরে বেড়াবে।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that effective kingship requires firm enforcement of dharma: a ruler must keep people established in their proper duties; without such restraint, society collapses into mutual predation and lawlessness.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira about governance, warning that if a king is not stern in upholding order, the subjects will harm one another and wander unchecked like wolves.