Shloka 5
राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च
Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency
यः स्वयं प्रतिहन्ति सम शासन विषये रत: । स बाहुभ्यां विनिग्राह्मो लोकयात्राविधातक:
yaḥ svayaṁ pratihanti samaśāsana-viṣaye rataḥ | sa bāhubhyāṁ vinigrāhyo loka-yātrā-vidhātakaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “A man who, being attached to worldly pleasures, nevertheless violates by his own will the law of restraint and discipline in governance becomes one who disrupts the orderly course of society. Such a betrayer of dharma should be checked and subdued by the Kṣatriya through the strength of his arms, so that public order and righteous conduct are preserved.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
One who knowingly violates the discipline and law that sustain society becomes a threat to public order; it is the Kṣatriya’s duty, using legitimate force, to restrain such a person to protect dharma and social stability.
In the Śānti Parva’s discussion of governance and dharma, Vyāsa states a principle of rājadharma: when someone undermines lawful restraint and thereby harms the social order, the ruler/warrior class must curb him to maintain the proper functioning of society.