Shloka 27
एतां बुद्धि विनिश्चित्य भूतानामागतिं गतिम् । पितृपैतामहे वृत्ते शाधि राज्यं यथोचितम्,“महाराज! यदि युद्धमें आपने मनको परास्त नहीं किया तो पता नहीं आप किस अवस्थाको पहुँच जायँगे? और यदि मनको जीत लिया तो अवश्य कृतकृत्य हो जायूँगे। प्राणियोंके आवागमनको देखते हुए इस विचारधाराको बुद्धिमें स्थिर करके आप पिता- पितामहोंके आचारमें प्रतिष्ठित हो यथोचित रूपसे राज्यका शासन कीजिये
etāṃ buddhiṃ viniścitya bhūtānām āgatiṃ gatiṃ | pitṛpaitāmahe vṛtte śādhi rājyaṃ yathocitam ||
Having firmly resolved this understanding—reflecting on the coming and going, the onward course of living beings—govern the kingdom as is proper, established in the ancestral code of conduct handed down by your father and forefathers.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should govern with settled discernment, mindful of the transient movement and destiny of beings, and should anchor policy and personal conduct in the tested ethical tradition of the ancestors (pitṛ-paitāmaha-vṛtti), administering the kingdom in a fitting, dharmic way.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, narrating the discourse of Śānti Parva, conveys counsel to a king: after internalizing a reflective insight about the life-cycle and fate of beings, the king is urged to take up rightful rule and administer the realm according to established ancestral standards of conduct.