Shloka 18
उतथ्योपदेशः—राजधर्मः, दर्पनिग्रहः, प्रजारक्षणम्
Utathya’s Instruction: Royal Dharma, Restraint of Pride, Protection of Subjects
धनात् स्रवति धर्मो हि धारणाद् वेति निश्चय: । अकार्याणां मनुष्येन्द्र स सीमान्तकर: स्मृत:
dhanāt sravati dharmo hi dhāraṇād veti niścayaḥ | akāryāṇāṁ manuṣyendra sa sīmāntakaraḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Utathya sprach: „Dharma fließt wahrlich aus Reichtum — dies ist die feststehende Schlussfolgerung. Und weil er alles trägt und erhält, wird er gewiss ‘Dharma’ genannt. O Bester der Menschen: Dieser Dharma gilt als der Setzer von Grenzen, denn er beendet, was nicht getan werden darf (sündige, verbotene Taten).“
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is presented as something that requires material means to be expressed in action (charity, protection, sacrifice, governance), and as the sustaining principle that sets moral boundaries—limiting and ending forbidden conduct.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous living and kingship, the sage Utathya addresses a king (‘best of men’) and explains how wealth, when rightly used, becomes a vehicle for dharma, and how dharma functions to restrain wrongdoing by defining clear limits.