Shloka 47
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
क्षत्रियस्य स्मृतो धर्म: प्रजापालनमादित: । निर्दिष्टफलभोक्ता हि राजा धर्मेण युज्यते,क्षत्रियका सबसे पहला धर्म है प्रजाका पालन करना। प्रजाकी आयके छठे भागका उपभोग करनेवाला राजा धर्मका फल पाता है
kṣatriyasya smṛto dharmaḥ prajā-pālanam āditaḥ | nirdiṣṭa-phala-bhoktā hi rājā dharmeṇa yujyate |
Maheshvara said: “For a kṣatriya, the foremost duty taught by tradition is the protection and governance of the people. A king who enjoys only the duly prescribed share (of revenue) is thereby aligned with dharma and becomes a rightful participant in its fruits.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines the primary kṣatriya duty as safeguarding and sustaining the people. Royal enjoyment of revenue is legitimate only when it is limited to the śāstra-prescribed share and grounded in the king’s protective responsibility; then the king is said to partake of dharma’s fruits.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on conduct and duties, Śrī Maheśvara speaks as a teacher of rajadharma, stating a normative rule: the king’s first obligation is prajā-pālana, and his right to receive a fixed share of income follows from fulfilling that duty in accordance with dharma.