Shloka 15

मयूरवद्राजधर्मः (Mayūra-vat Rāja-dharma) — The Peacock-Model of Protective Kingship

Devanagari script

बाणवद्धिसृता यान्ति स्वामिकार्यपरा नरा: । ये भृत्या: पार्थिवहितास्तेषां सान्त्वं प्रयोजयेत्‌

Transliteration

bāṇavaddhi sṛtā yānti svāmikāryaparā narāḥ | ye bhṛtyāḥ pārthivahitās teṣāṃ sāntvaṃ prayojayet ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Männer, die ganz auf das Werk ihres Herrn bedacht sind, drängen zur Vollendung des Ziels voran wie Pfeile, die vom Bogen gelöst wurden. Darum soll der Herrscher, wenn Diener dem Wohl des Königs ergeben sind, sie fortwährend mit versöhnlichen, süßen Worten ermutigen, damit Eifer und Treue fest bestehen.“

Word by Word

• {'bāṇavat': 'like an arrow', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'sṛtāḥ': 'released, let go (from a bow)', 'yānti': 'go, proceed', 'svāmi-kārya-parāḥ': 'devoted to the master’s business/duty', 'narāḥ': 'men, persons', 'ye': 'who, those who', 'bhṛtyāḥ': 'servants, retainers', 'pārthiva-hita': 'the king’s welfare

• beneficial to the ruler/state', 'teṣām': 'of them', 'sāntvam': 'conciliation, gentle encouragement, reassuring speech', 'prayojayet': 'should employ, should apply'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• svāmi (master/lord)
• pārthiva (king)
• bāṇa (arrow)
• dhanus (bow, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler should recognize and nurture loyal, welfare-minded service: servants devoted to the king’s work act with the focused momentum of an arrow, and the king should sustain such dedication through gentle encouragement and reassuring speech (sāntva).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance (rāja-dharma), Bhishma advises the king on managing retainers: those committed to the ruler’s tasks advance decisively toward success, and the king should keep them motivated by speaking kindly and supportively.