Shloka 26
Kṣātra-Dharma, Daṇḍanīti, and Social Order
Indra–Māndhātṛ Dialogue
नष्टा धर्मा: शतधा शाशभ्षृतास्ते क्षात्रेण धर्मेण पुन: प्रवृद्धा: । युगे युगे ह्यादिधर्मा: प्रवृत्ता लोकज्येष्ठं क्षात्रधर्म वदन्ति
naṣṭā dharmāḥ śatadhā śāśabhṛtās te kṣātreṇa dharmeṇa punaḥ pravṛddhāḥ | yuge yuge hy ādi-dharmāḥ pravṛttā lokajyeṣṭhaṃ kṣātra-dharmaṃ vadanti ||
Indra said: “Dharma has perished hundreds of times, borne onward only in scattered fragments; yet through kṣātra-dharma it has been restored and made to flourish again. In every age the primordial dharma is set in motion anew; therefore people declare this kṣātra-dharma to be the foremost among worldly duties.”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse argues that when moral order repeatedly collapses, it is the disciplined exercise of kṣātra-dharma—protective rulership, enforcement of justice, and defense of society—that revives and stabilizes dharma. Hence it is praised as a foremost worldly duty because it safeguards the conditions in which all other dharmas can function.
Indra is speaking within the Shanti Parva’s discourse on governance and duty, emphasizing to his listener that the warrior-king’s role is not mere violence but the restoration and maintenance of righteousness across ages, especially when society falls into disorder.