Shloka 1
Ālasyadoṣa-nirdeśa (On the Fault of Negligence) — The Camel’s Long-Neck Exemplum
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका १ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ९१ “लोक हैं।) ऑपनआक्राा बछ। अकाल दादशाधिकशततमो< ध्याय: एक तपस्वी ऊँटके आलस्यका कुपरिणाम और राजाका कर्तव्य युधिष्ठिर उदाच किं पार्थिवेन कर्तव्यं कि च कृत्वा सुखी भवेत् । एतदाचक्ष्व तत्त्वेन सर्वधर्मभूतां वर,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--समस्त धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ पितामह! राजाको क्या करना चाहिये? क्या करनेसे वह सुखी हो सकता है? यह मुझे यथार्थरूपसे बताइये?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | kiṃ pārthivena kartavyaṃ kiṃ ca kṛtvā sukhī bhavet | etad ācakṣva tattvena sarvadharmabhṛtāṃ vara ||
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O Bester unter allen, die das Dharma wahren: Was soll ein König tun? Und wodurch kann er wahrhaft glücklich werden? Sage mir dies der Wahrheit gemäß.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the central problem of rājadharma: a ruler’s true welfare (sukha) depends not on power alone but on performing what is right (kartavya) in alignment with dharma. It sets up Bhīṣma’s instruction that ethical governance is the path to both public good and the king’s own well-being.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction section, Yudhiṣṭhira approaches Bhīṣma as the authoritative teacher of dharma and asks a direct, two-part question: what a king must do, and what conduct leads to lasting happiness. This initiates a discourse on the duties and ideals of kingship.