Shloka 100
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
जो राजा धर्मको नहीं जानता, उसके अत्याचारसे प्रजाका नाश हो जाता है। राजा ही धर्म, अर्थ और काम--इन तीनोंका मूल है। अतः उसे पूर्ण सावधान रहकर निरन्तर अपनी प्रजाका पालन करना चाहिये ।। बलिषड्भागमुद्धृत्य बलिं समुपयोजयेत् । न रक्षति प्रजा: सम्यग् यः स पार्थिवतस्कर:,जो प्रजाकी आयका छठा भाग कररूपसे ग्रहण करके उसका उपभोग करता है और प्रजाका भलीभाँति पालन नहीं करता, वह तो राजाओंमें चोर है
Brahmadatta uvāca: yo rājā dharmaṁ na jānāti, tasya atyācāreṇa prajāyā nāśo bhavati. rājā hi dharma-artha-kāmānāṁ trayāṇām api mūlam; ataḥ sa pūrṇa-sāvadhānaḥ san nityaṁ sva-prajāḥ pālayitavyāḥ. bali-ṣaḍ-bhāgam uddhṛtya baliṁ samupayojayet; na rakṣati prajāḥ samyag yaḥ sa pārthiva-taskaraḥ.
Brahmadatta said: “When a king does not understand dharma, his oppression brings ruin upon the people. The king is the very root of the three aims—dharma, prosperity (artha), and pleasure (kāma)—therefore he must remain fully vigilant and continually protect and sustain his subjects. If, after taking the sixth share as tax, he consumes it for himself yet does not properly safeguard the people, he is a thief among kings.”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s legitimacy rests on dharma and protection: collecting the traditional one-sixth tax is justified only when the ruler uses it responsibly and safeguards the people. Taxation without protection is equated with theft.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Brahmadatta delivers a warning about misrule: ignorance of dharma leads to tyranny and the ruin of the populace, and a ruler who takes revenue but fails in protection is condemned as a ‘thief among kings’.