Shloka 25
अध्याय ७२ — राजधर्मः: प्रजारक्षण, कर-नीति, दण्ड-नीति, अमात्य-नियोजन
Chapter 72 — Royal Duty: protection of subjects, taxation, punishment, and appointments
धर्मेण व्यवहारेण प्रजा: पालय पाण्डव । युधिष्ठिर यथा युक्तो नाधिबन्धेन योक्ष्यसे
dharmeṇa vyavahāreṇa prajāḥ pālaya pāṇḍava | yudhiṣṭhira yathā yukto nādhibandhena yokṣyase ||
Bhishma said: “O Pandava, protect and govern the people through conduct grounded in dharma. O Yudhiṣṭhira, if you remain rightly disciplined and aligned with what is proper, you will not be bound by anxious worry or the painful fetters of regret.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should protect and administer the realm through dharma-informed conduct and fair practical governance; when one remains properly aligned with righteousness, one avoids the inner bondage of anxiety and later remorse.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (the duties of kingship). Here he urges Yudhiṣṭhira, as the new ruler, to care for the people through righteous administration so that his rule remains free from the burdens of worry and regret.