Shloka 125
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिदन्धांश्व मूकां श्व पड्डून् व्यज्ञानबान्धवान् । पितेव पासि धर्मज्ञ तथा प्रव्रजितानपि
kaccid andhāṁś ca mūkāṁś ca paṅgūn vyādhita-bāndhavān | piteva pāsi dharmajña tathā pravrajitān api ||
Nārada said: “O knower of dharma, do you, like a father, provide protection and sustenance to the blind, the mute, the lame, and to those who are without relatives or support—indeed, even to renunciants as well?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous kingship (rājadharma) as paternal care: a ruler’s dharma includes actively protecting and supporting society’s most vulnerable—those with disabilities, the unprotected without kin, and even renunciants—rather than limiting concern to the powerful or productive.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing welfare-questions, tests the ruler’s adherence to dharma by asking whether he ensures compassionate maintenance and protection for marginalized dependents and for ascetics who live outside ordinary household structures.