Shloka 38

Devanagari script

महाभारत &«€ ७» कक राजासे हीन प्रजाकी ब्रह्माजीसे राजाके लिये प्रार्थना यात्राकालाश्ष चत्वारस्त्रिवर्गस्थ च विस्तर: । विजयो धर्मयुक्तश्व तथार्थविजयश्व ह,शत्रुओंपर चढ़ाई करनेके चार- अवसर, त्रिवर्गके विस्तार, धर्म-विजय, अर्थ-विजय तथा आसुर-विजयका भी कक्त ग्रन्थमें पूर्णरूपसे वर्णन किया गया है। मन्त्री, राष्ट्र, दुर्ग, सेना और कोष--इन पाँच वर्गोंके उत्तम, मध्यम और अधम भेदसे तीन प्रकारके लक्षणोंका भी प्रतिपादन किया गया है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | mahābhārate 'smin granthe prajāyā rājahīnatve brahmaṇā rājñe kṛtā prārthanā yātrākālāś ca catvāras trivaragasya ca vistaraḥ | vijayo dharmayuktaś ca tathārthavijaya eva ca āsuravijayaś ca | śatrūṇām upari yātrāyāś catvāraḥ kālāḥ, trivaragasya vistaraḥ, dharmavijayaḥ, arthavijayaḥ, āsuravijayaś ca—etad api granthe pūrṇarūpeṇa varṇitam | mantrī rāṣṭra durga senā kośa iti pañcavargāṇāṃ uttama-madhyama-adhama-bhedena trividha-lakṣaṇam api pratipāditam ||

Translation

Bhishma said: In this Mahabharata it is fully described how, when the people were left without a king, Brahma prayed for the creation of kingship. It also sets out the four proper occasions for undertaking a royal expedition against enemies, and explains in detail the three aims of life. Further, it distinguishes the kinds of victory—victory grounded in dharma, victory aimed at material gain, and victory of an asuric (unrighteous) kind. It also lays down the threefold criteria—superior, middling, and inferior—for the five pillars of a kingdom: the minister, the realm, the fort, the army, and the treasury.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bhīṣma uvāca', 'definition': '‘Bhishma said’

• the speaker marker'}, {'term': 'prajā', 'definition': 'subjects, the people of the realm'}, {'term': 'rāja-hīnatva', 'definition': 'the condition of being without a king

• absence of kingship'}, {'term': 'brahmā', 'definition': 'Brahma

• the creator deity, here linked with instituting kingship'}, {'term': 'prārthanā', 'definition': 'prayer, supplication'}, {'term': 'yātrā-kāla', 'definition': 'time/occasion for a campaign or expedition'}, {'term': 'trivarga', 'definition': 'the triad of human aims: dharma, artha, kāma'}, {'term': 'vistara', 'definition': 'detailed exposition, expansion'}, {'term': 'vijaya', 'definition': 'victory

• success in conquest or policy'}, {'term': 'dharma-yukta', 'definition': 'aligned with dharma

• ethically legitimate'}, {'term': 'artha-vijaya', 'definition': 'victory pursued for material/political gain (artha)'}, {'term': 'āsura-vijaya', 'definition': 'asuric victory

• victory by unrighteous, cruel, or impious means'}, {'term': 'mantrī', 'definition': 'minister, counselor'}, {'term': 'rāṣṭra', 'definition': 'the realm/territory and its populace

• the state'}, {'term': 'durga', 'definition': 'fortress

• defensive stronghold'}, {'term': 'senā', 'definition': 'army'}, {'term': 'kośa', 'definition': 'treasury

• financial resources'}, {'term': 'uttama / madhyama / adhama', 'definition': 'superior / middling / inferior (grades of quality)'}, {'term': 'lakṣaṇa', 'definition': 'defining marks

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Brahma
• king (rājā)
• subjects (prajā)
• minister (mantrī)
• realm (rāṣṭra)
• fortress (durga)
• army (senā)
• treasury (kośa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames kingship as a dharma-protecting institution: it outlines ethical categories of victory and teaches that a kingdom’s strength depends on evaluating its five pillars—minister, realm, fort, army, and treasury—by clear standards of quality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, instructing on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, points to what the Mahabharata itself contains: the origin-idea of kingship (Brahma’s prayer when people lacked a king), guidance on when to undertake campaigns, the exposition of the trivarga, and classifications of victory and state components.