Shloka 18
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
पाण्डवोंद्वारा देवर्षि नारदका पूजन कच्चिदाचरितं पूर्वर्नरदेव पितामहै: । वर्तसे वृत्तिमक्षुद्रां धर्मार्थसहितां त्रिषु
kaccid ācaritaṃ pūrvair naradeva pitāmahaiḥ | vartase vṛttim akṣudrāṃ dharmārthasahitāṃ triṣu, naradeva ||
Nārada said: “O king, do you conduct yourself—toward the three social orders (brāhmaṇa, vaiśya, and śūdra)—in that noble and generous mode of governance, grounded in both dharma and practical welfare, which was practiced earlier by your fathers and grandfathers?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should uphold a magnanimous, non-petty standard of conduct that harmonizes dharma (righteousness) with artha (public welfare and prosperity), and apply it consistently in dealings with the social orders under his protection.
The sage Nārada addresses the king with a formal, probing question, checking whether the king’s administration follows the time-tested, dharma-guided practices of his forefathers—especially in how he treats and governs the three varṇas mentioned in the contextual gloss.