Shloka 27
अराजके जनपदे दोषा जायन्ति वै सदा | उद्वृत्तं सततं लोकं राजा दण्डेन शास्ति वै,जिस देशमें राजा न हो वहाँ अनेक प्रकारके दोष (चोर आदिके भय) पैदा होते हैं। धर्मकी मर्यादा त्यागकर उच्छुंखल बने हुए लोगोंको राजा अपने दण्डके द्वारा शिक्षा देता है
arājake janapade doṣā jāyante vai sadā | udvṛttaṁ satataṁ lokaṁ rājā daṇḍena śāsti vai ||
Śamīka said: “In a kingdom without a ruler, faults and disorders inevitably arise—such as the fear of thieves and other harms. When people cast aside the boundaries of dharma and become continually unruly, it is the king who restrains and corrects them through the instrument of punishment.”
शमीक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that political authority is ethically necessary to uphold dharma in society: without a king, disorder naturally grows, and the ruler’s daṇḍa (punitive power) functions as a corrective force to restrain lawlessness and protect communal life.
Śamīka is articulating a principle of governance (rājadharma), explaining why a ruler is required: in a rulerless realm social evils arise, and the king maintains order by disciplining those who become unruly and disregard dharmic limits.