Shloka 10
राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च
Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency
पाण्डुनन्दन! तुमने तो उन्हीं लोगोंका सेवकोंसहित वध किया है, जो धर्मका नाश करनेवाले थे। अपने धर्ममें स्थित रहते हुए भी तुम शोक क्यों कर रहे हो? क्योंकि राजाका यह कर्तव्य ही है कि वह धर्मद्रोहियोंका वध करे, सुपात्रोंको दान दे और धर्मके अनुसार प्रजाकी रक्षा करे ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | na te ’bhiśaṅke vacanaṃ yad bravīṣi tapodhana | aparokṣo hi te dharmaḥ sarvadharmavidāṃ vara ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O ascetic rich in austerity, I do not doubt in the least the words you speak. For to you dharma is directly evident; among all who know dharma, you are the foremost.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True moral authority rests with those who have direct insight into dharma; when such a sage speaks, the listener should set aside suspicion and accept the guidance as grounded in immediate knowledge rather than mere opinion.
In the aftermath of war, Yudhiṣṭhira—troubled by grief and moral anxiety—responds to a revered ascetic’s counsel. He affirms that he has no doubt about the instruction because the sage is a foremost knower of dharma, for whom dharma is directly manifest.