Shloka 49
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिद् बलस्य भक्त च वेतनं च यथोचितम् । सम्प्राप्तकाले दातव्यं ददासि न विकर्षसि
kaccid balasya bhaktaṃ ca vetanaṃ ca yathocitam | samprāptakāle dātavyaṃ dadāsi na vikarṣasi ||
Nārada said: “Do you provide your troops with proper rations and fair wages, as is fitting? And when the due time arrives, do you give what must be given without withholding it or delaying it?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes ensuring the welfare of those who serve the state—especially soldiers—by providing adequate rations and fair wages, and by paying what is due on time without reduction or delay.
Nārada, in a sequence of ‘kaccit’ welfare-and-dharma questions, probes the king’s governance: he asks whether the army is properly maintained through fitting provisions and timely remuneration, testing the king’s adherence to righteous administration.