Shloka 22
Akṣara–Kṣara Viveka: Vasiṣṭha–Karāla-Janaka Saṃvāda (अक्षर-क्षर विवेकः)
राज्ञा जेतव्या: शत्रवश्नोन्नताश्र सम्यक् कर्तव्यं पालनं च प्रजानाम् । अन्निश्वेयो बहुभिश्चापि यज्ञै- रन्त्ये मध्ये वा वनमाश्रित्य स्थेयम्
rājñā jetavyāḥ śatravaś cābhiyātāḥ samyak kartavyaṁ pālanaṁ ca prajānām | agniśreyo bahubhiś cāpi yajñair antye madhye vā vanam āśritya stheyam, nareśvara ||
Parāśara said: “A king should subdue enemies who rise up in aggression, and he must protect his subjects with fairness and proper order. He should also honor Agni through many sacrifices. And when dispassion arises—whether in midlife or at life’s end—he should withdraw to the forest and live there, O lord of men.”
पराशर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse outlines a balanced royal ethic: a king must restrain aggressive enemies, govern and protect the people justly, sustain the sacrificial order by honoring Agni through yajñas, and—when detachment arises—transition from rulership to forest-dwelling (vanaprastha/renunciatory withdrawal), whether in midlife or at life’s end.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Parāśara speaks as a teacher, summarizing key duties of kingship (security and just administration) alongside the Vedic-ritual obligation, and then points to the life-stage ideal of retiring to the forest when vairāgya matures.