Shloka 65
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
क्या धनरक्षक, द्रव्यसंग्राहक, चिकित्सक, गुप्तचर, पाचक, सेवक, लेखक और प्रहरी--इन आठ अंगों और हाथी, घोड़े, रथ एवं पैदल--इन चारः॑ प्रकारके बलोंसे युक्त तुम्हारी सेना सुयोग्य सेनापतियोंद्वारा अच्छी तरह संचालित होकर शत्रुओंका संहार करनेमें समर्थ होती है? ।।
kaccid dhanarakṣaka-dravyasaṃgrāhaka-cikitsaka-guptacara-pācaka-sevaka-lekhaka-praharī—ebhir aṣṭāṅgaiḥ, hastyaśva-ratha-pādātaiś caturvidhair balaiś ca yuktā tava senā suyogyaiḥ senāpatibhiḥ samyak saṃcālitā śatrūṇāṃ saṃhāre samarthā bhavati? kaccid lavaṃ ca muṣṭiṃ ca pararāṣṭre parantapa avihāya mahārāja nihansi samare ripūn?
Nārada asks the king whether his army is properly organized and effectively led: whether it is supported by the eight essential departments—treasury-guarding, revenue and stores management, medical care, intelligence, cooking, service staff, scribes, and sentries—and whether it is backed by the fourfold fighting strength of elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry, so that, under competent commanders, it can decisively subdue enemies. He further probes the king’s conduct in war: whether, without neglecting practical measures such as cutting off the enemy’s grain and exploiting moments of scarcity, the king strikes down foes on the battlefield—implying that royal duty (rājadharma) requires both strategic foresight and disciplined force, not mere bravado.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s duty is not only personal valor but competent governance of war: maintaining key administrative departments (security, revenue/stores, medicine, intelligence, logistics, records, and guards) and ensuring the fourfold army is led by capable commanders. Strategic pressure on enemy resources is presented as part of effective, disciplined rājadharma.
Nārada is testing the king’s preparedness and prudence through a sequence of ‘kaccit’ questions. Here he asks whether the king’s army is properly staffed and commanded, and whether the king applies practical wartime measures—like disrupting enemy grain supplies—so that victory is achieved through organized strength and strategy.