Shloka 118
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चित् ते कृषितन्त्रेषु गोषु पुष्पफलेषु च । धर्मार्थ च द्विजातिभ्यो दीयेते मधुसर्पिषी
kaccit te kṛṣitantrēṣu gōṣu puṣpaphalēṣu ca | dharmārthaṃ ca dvijātibhyō dīyatē madhusarpīṣī ||
Nārada said: “Tell me—are the produce of your agriculture, your cattle, and your flowers and fruits being used rightly? Do you, for the sake of dharma, give to the twice-born (Brahmins) the proper offerings—honey and ghee (and other such wholesome provisions)?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s prosperity (agriculture, cattle, orchards) should be ethically directed: resources must support dharma through proper giving—especially sustaining the learned and ritual order via gifts like honey and ghee.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions about governance and righteousness, asks whether the kingdom’s produce and wealth are being used for religious duty—specifically, whether offerings and gifts are being duly given to the twice-born.