Shloka 44
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
अमात्यानुपधातीतान् पितृपैतामहाञ्छुचीन् । श्रेष्ठाउ्छेछ्वेषु कच्चित् त्वं नियोजयसि कर्मसु,क्या तुम निश्छल, बाप-दादोंके क्रमसे चले आये हुए और पवित्र आचार- विचारवाले श्रेष्ठ मन्त्रियोंको सदा श्रेष्ठ कर्मोमें लगाये रखते हो?
amātyān upadhātītān pitṛpaitāmahān śucīn | śreṣṭhān ucchveṣv eva kaccit tvaṁ niyojayasi karmasu ||
Nārada said: “Do you, O king, appoint to their duties those ministers who are free from corruption and intrigue—men of inherited ancestral standing, pure in conduct—so that the best among them are always engaged in the highest and most fitting works?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes selecting and employing ministers who are morally pure and free from corrupt influence, and assigning the most capable to the most important state duties.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions on kingship, asks whether the king properly appoints trustworthy, ancestrally reputable, and upright ministers to appropriate and higher responsibilities.