Shloka 2

राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च

Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच प्रजानां पालन धर्मो राज्ञां राजीवलोचन । धर्म: प्रमाणं लोकस्य नित्यं धर्मनिवर्तिन:,व्यासजी बोले--कमलनयन युधिष्ठिर! राजाओंका धर्म प्रजाजनोंका पालन करना ही है। धर्मका अनुसरण करनेवाले लोगोंके लिये सदा धर्म ही प्रमाण है

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | prajānāṃ pālana-dharmo rājñāṃ rājīva-locana | dharmaḥ pramāṇaṃ lokasya nityaṃ dharma-nivartinaḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: „O lotosäugiger (Yudhiṣṭhira), die bestimmende Pflicht der Könige ist der Schutz und das Wohlergehen ihrer Untertanen. Für jene, die nach Dharma leben, ist Dharma selbst stets der letzte Maßstab und die höchste Autorität der Welt.“

Word by Word

व्यासःVyasa

उवाचsaid

प्रजानाम्of the subjects/people

पालनम्protection, governance

धर्मःduty, dharma

राज्ञाम्of kings

राजीव-लोचनO lotus-eyed one

धर्मःdharma

प्रमाणम्authority, standard, proof

लोकस्यof the world/people

नित्यम्always

धर्म-निवर्तिनाम्of those who act according to dharma

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyasa

Yudhishthira

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king’s primary dharma is to protect and sustain the people; and for those committed to righteous conduct, dharma itself functions as the ultimate authority and measure for decisions.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on statecraft and ethics, Vyāsa addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and frames royal duty (rājadharma) as public protection, grounding political authority in adherence to dharma.