Shloka 108
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
नास्तिक्यमनृतं क्रोध॑ प्रमादं दीर्घसूत्रताम् । अदर्शनं ज्ञानवतामालस्यं पज्चवृत्तिताम् । एकचिन्तनमर्थानामनर्थजैश्व चिन्तनम्
nāstikyam anṛtaṁ krodhaṁ pramādaṁ dīrghasūtratām | adarśanaṁ jñānavatām ālasyaṁ pañcavṛttitām | ekacintanam arthānām anarthajaiś ca cintanam, yudhiṣṭhira! |
Nārada said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, do you renounce these faults that ruin kingship—irreligion and denial of moral order, falsehood, anger, heedlessness, procrastination, avoiding the company and counsel of the wise, laziness, addiction to the pursuits of the five senses, brooding alone over matters of state, and deliberating with fools who do not understand policy and its consequences? Even rulers whose kingdoms are firmly rooted are brought to destruction by such defects.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s stability depends less on power and more on disciplined character and sound counsel: truthfulness, self-control, diligence, and seeking the wise are essential, while sensuality, anger, negligence, procrastination, and consulting the unqualified destroy even well-established kingdoms.
In the royal-ethics dialogue of the Sabha Parva, the sage Nārada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and tests/teaches him by listing governance-ruining vices, urging him to abandon them as part of rājadharma (the duties and prudence of kings).