Shloka 52
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिनैको बहूनर्थान् सर्वशः साम्परायिकान् । अनुशास्ति यथाकामं कामात्मा शासनातिग:,तुम्हारे कर्मचारियोंमें कोई ऐसा तो नहीं है, जो अपनी इच्छाके अनुसार चलनेवाला और तुम्हारे शासनका उल्लंघन करनेवाला हो तथा युद्धके सारे साधनों एवं कार्योंकोी अकेला ही अपनी रुचिके अनुसार चला रहा हो?
kaccin naiko bahūn arthān sarvaśaḥ sāmparāyikān | anuśāsti yathākāmaṃ kāmātmā śāsanātigaḥ ||
Nārada said: “Is it the case that no single official—driven by personal desire and transgressing your authority—has taken it upon himself to direct, at his own pleasure, the many affairs of the realm, including those bearing upon war and the state’s ultimate security?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must prevent concentration of power in a single, desire-driven official who acts beyond lawful command; effective rule requires oversight, disciplined administration, and control of war-related and high-stakes state affairs.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions on kingship, tests whether the ruler’s administration is sound—specifically whether any one employee/minister is independently running major affairs according to personal whim while disregarding royal authority.