Shloka 8
मरुत्तोपाख्यान-प्रस्तावः — Genealogy to Marutta and the Logistics of Royal Sacrifice
खनीनेत्रस्तु विक्रान्तो जित्वा राज्यमकण्टकम् । नाशकद् रक्षितुं राज्यं नान्वरज्यन्त तं प्रजा:
khanīnetras tu vikrānto jitvā rājyam akaṇṭakam | nāśakad rakṣituṁ rājyam nānvarajyanta taṁ prajāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: Though Khanīnetra was valiant and had conquered a kingdom free of thorns—without rival or obstruction—he could not preserve that rule, for the people did not grow devoted to him.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Conquest alone does not secure a kingdom; a ruler must win and sustain the subjects’ trust and affection through righteous, welfare-oriented governance. Without popular allegiance, even an uncontested realm becomes unstable.
Vyāsa narrates an example: the warrior-king Khanīnetra, despite successfully conquering an unobstructed kingdom, fails to maintain it because the people do not become attached or loyal to him.