Shloka 149
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
सर्व: स्वे स्वे गृहे राजा सर्व: स्वे स्वे गृहे गृही । निग्रहानुग्रहान् कुर्वस्तुल्यो जनक राजभि:
sarvaḥ sve sve gṛhe rājā sarvaḥ sve sve gṛhe gṛhī | nigrahānugrahān kurvans tulyo janaka rājabhiḥ ||
Bhishma said: “O Janaka, in his own household each person is a king, and in his own household each is a master of the home. Since each exercises restraint and punishment on the one hand, and favor and protection on the other, all are, in that respect, comparable to kings.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority and responsibility are not limited to crowned rulers: within one’s own household, a person functions like a king by balancing nigraha (restraint/punishment) and anugraha (favor/protection). The verse highlights ethical governance at the domestic level—rule begins with disciplined, fair conduct in one’s immediate sphere.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and governance, Bhishma addresses Janaka and uses a domestic analogy: every householder, within his own home, exercises king-like functions of discipline and benevolence, and is therefore comparable to kings in that limited domain.