Shloka 33
जो बुद्धिमान, त्यागी, शत्रुओंकी दुर्बलता जाननेके प्रयत्नमें तत्पर, देखनेमें सुन्दर, सभी वर्णोंके न्याय और अन्यायको समझनेवाला, शीघ्र कार्य करनेमें समर्थ, क्रोधपर विजय पानेवाला, आश्रितोंपर कृपा करनेवाला, महामनस्वी, कोमल स्वभावसे युक्त, उद्योगी, कर्मठ तथा आत्मप्रशंसासे दूर रहनेवाला है, जिस राजाके आरम्भ किये हुए सभी कार्य सुन्दर रूपसे समाप्त होते दिखायी देते हैं, वह समस्त राजाओंमें श्रेष्ठ है ।। पुत्रा इव पितुर्गेहे विषये यस्य मानवा: । निर्भया विचरिष्यन्ति स राजा राजसत्तम:,जैसे पुत्र अपने पिताके घरमें निर्भीक होकर रहते हैं, उसी प्रकार जिस राजाके राज्यमें मनुष्य निर्भय होकर विचरते हैं, वह सब राजाओंमें श्रेष्ठ है
putrā iva pitur gehe viṣaye yasya mānavāḥ | nirbhayā vicariṣyanti sa rājā rājasattamaḥ ||
Bhishma said: That king is the best among rulers in whose realm people move about without fear—just as sons live fearlessly in their father’s house. Such fearlessness arises when the ruler is wise, self-controlled, compassionate to dependents, swift and capable in action, free from anger and self-praise, and able to bring undertakings to a good completion; then the kingdom becomes a place of secure, dharmic order rather than coercion.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The hallmark of the best king is that his subjects live and move about without fear, as naturally secure as children in a father’s home; this security is grounded in the ruler’s wisdom, self-restraint, compassion, and effective completion of just governance.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhishma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira the qualities and outcomes of ideal kingship, using the image of sons in a father’s house to describe a well-ruled, safe realm.