Shloka 123
Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)
उनके राज्यमें किसीको बुढ़ापा, दुर्भिक्ष तथा आधि-व्याधिका कष्ट नहीं था। राजाकी ओरसे रक्षाकी समुचित व्यवस्था होनेके कारण वहाँ कभी किसीको सर्पों, चोरों तथा आपसके लोगोंसे भय नहीं प्राप्त होता था ।। आपस्तस्तम्भिरे चास्य समुद्रमभियास्यत: । पर्वताश्न ददुर्मार्ग ध्वजभड़श्च नाभवत्,जिस समय वे समुद्रमें होकर चलते थे, उस समय उसका जल स्थिर हो जाता था। पर्वत उन्हें रास्ता दे देते थे, उनके रथकी ध्वजा कभी टूटी नहीं
āpasta-stambhire cāsya samudram abhiyāsyataḥ | parvatāś ca dadur mārgaṁ dhvaja-bhaṅgaś ca nābhavat ||
Bhīṣma said: In his realm no one suffered the afflictions of old age, famine, or mental and bodily disease. Because the king had arranged proper protection, no one there ever lived in fear of serpents, thieves, or hostile people within the community. And when he travelled upon the sea, its waters became still; the mountains yielded him a passage; and the banner on his chariot was never broken—signs of a rule so righteous and well-ordered that even nature seemed to cooperate with it.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the ideal of rājadharma: a king’s foremost duty is effective protection and just governance, resulting in freedom from fear, social stability, and public well-being; such righteousness is portrayed as so potent that it brings harmony even in the natural world.
Bhīṣma is describing a model ruler whose kingdom is free from common calamities and dangers. He then adds hyperbolic-epic signs of that ruler’s extraordinary fortune and merit: the sea calms as he travels, mountains open a route, and his chariot’s banner never breaks.