Shloka 20
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
वृत्तं तु स्वमपेक्षस्व पितृपैतामहोचितम् । नैव राज्ञां तथा वृत्तं यथा त्वं स्थातुमिच्छसि,तुम्हारे बाप-दादोंने जिस आचार-व्यवहारको अपनाया था, उसे ही प्राप्त करनेकी तुम भी इच्छा रखो। तुम जिस तरह रहना चाहते हो, वह राजाओंका आचरण नहीं है
vṛttaṃ tu svam apekṣasva pitṛpaitāmaho-citam | naiva rājñāṃ tathā vṛttaṃ yathā tvaṃ sthātum icchasi ||
Bhishma sprach: „Richte dich nach deiner eigenen, dir gebührenden Lebensführung—so wie es der Überlieferung deiner Väter und Großväter entspricht. Die Art zu leben, die du wünschst, ist in Wahrheit nicht die Lebensart, die Königen ziemt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should align his personal lifestyle and choices with the established standards of royal dharma—conduct proven and sanctioned by ancestral tradition—rather than following a private preference that undermines the dignity and duties of kingship.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma admonishes the listener (a king/ruler) to measure himself against the proper, inherited code of conduct for kings, warning that the way he wishes to live does not match what is fitting for royalty.