Shloka 35

Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)

Devanagari script

घोषान्‌ न्यसेत मार्गेषु ग्रामानुत्थापयेदपि । प्रवेशयेच्च तान्‌ सर्वान्‌ शाखानगरकेष्वपि

Transliteration

ghoṣān nyaset mārgeṣu grāmān utthāpayet api | praveśayet ca tān sarvān śākhā-nagarakeṣv api ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Er soll öffentliche Bekanntmachungen an den Straßen anbringen, sogar die Dörfer zum Handeln aufrütteln und sie alle auch in die Vorstädte und Nebensiedlungen hineinführen lassen.“

Word by Word

घोषान्proclamations; announcements

न्यसेतshould place; should set down

मार्गेषुon the roads; in the paths

ग्रामान्villages

उत्थापयेत्should rouse; should cause to rise/mobilize

अपिalso; even

प्रवेशयेत्should cause to enter; should bring in

चand

तान्those (them)

सर्वान्all

शाखा-नगरकेषुin the branch-settlements/outlying towns

अपिalso; even

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

roads (mārga)

villages (grāma)

branch-towns/settlements (śākhā-nagara)

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?

Effective governance requires organized communication and coordinated mobilization: the ruler should disseminate official notices widely and ensure rural populations are gathered and managed through established local centers, promoting order and collective security.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction on royal duty (rājadharma) in the Śānti Parva, he outlines practical measures for administration—issuing proclamations along travel routes, stirring villages into readiness, and directing people into subsidiary towns/settlements for coordinated oversight.