Shloka 3
राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च
Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency
अनुतिष्ठस्व तद् राजन् पितृपैतामहं पदम् । ब्राह्मणेषु तपो धर्म: स नित्यो वेदनिश्चितः
anutiṣṭhasva tad rājan pitr̥paitāmahaṁ padam | brāhmaṇeṣu tapo dharmaḥ sa nityo vedaniścitaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “Therefore, O King, take up and steadfastly follow the ancestral path of kingship handed down by your father and forefathers. For Brahmins, austerity is the ordained duty—ever constant, as the Veda itself has determined.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Each social role has its own dharma: a king should uphold inherited kingship responsibly (rājadharma), while Brahmins are enjoined to maintain tapas as a constant duty, grounded in Vedic authority.
Vyāsa addresses a king and urges him to accept and perform the traditional responsibilities of rulership, while clarifying that austerity is primarily the enduring duty of Brahmins, as affirmed by the Veda.