Shloka 43
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
चातुराश्रम्यमैकाग्र्यं चातुर्वर्ण्य च पाण्डव । धर्म पुरुषशार्दूल प्राप्स्यसे पालने रत:
cāturāśramyam aikāgryaṃ cāturvarṇyaṃ ca pāṇḍava | dharmaṃ puruṣaśārdūla prāpsyase pālane rataḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Pāṇḍava, tiger among men—if you remain devoted to the protection and governance of your subjects, you will attain the dharma that upholds the four āśramas and the four varṇas, along with the discipline of single-pointed steadiness. In other words, conscientious kingship becomes the means by which the whole social and spiritual order is sustained and your own righteousness is fulfilled.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king who is sincerely devoted to protecting and sustaining his people fulfills not only political duty but also the broader dharma that supports the four āśramas and four varṇas; good governance is presented as a spiritual-ethical discipline requiring focused steadiness (aikāgrya).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, assuring him that committed guardianship of the realm and subjects leads to the attainment of comprehensive dharma—social, moral, and inner—rather than being merely administrative work.