Shloka 30
दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity
Rājadharma
अन्य: कार्य: स्वराष्ट्रेषु परराष्ट्रेषु चापर: । अटवीषु पर: कार्य: सामन्तनगरेष्वपि
anyaḥ kāryaḥ svarāṣṭreṣu pararāṣṭreṣu cāparaḥ | aṭavīṣu paraḥ kāryaḥ sāmantanagareṣv api ||
Bhishma sprach: „Im eigenen Reich ist eine Art von Beauftragten einzusetzen, im fremden Reich eine andere. Wieder andere sind für die Wälder zu bestellen, ebenso für die Städte der unterworfenen Fürsten. In jedem dieser Bereiche soll der König einen jeweils eigenen Asketen als vertrauten Freund halten, damit Rat, Nachricht und sittlicher Einfluss überall verfügbar sind, ohne Verdacht zu erregen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should maintain a network of trustworthy, context-appropriate confidants/agents across different zones—home territory, foreign lands, forests, and feudatory towns—so governance remains informed and stable. The verse highlights prudent administration while implying ethical restraint: using respected ascetics as ‘friends’ can provide counsel and discreet information without overt coercion.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on practical governance. Here he outlines how a king should arrange different kinds of operatives in different regions, including keeping distinct ascetics as trusted contacts in each sphere.