Shloka 30
अध्याय ७२ — राजधर्मः: प्रजारक्षण, कर-नीति, दण्ड-नीति, अमात्य-नियोजन
Chapter 72 — Royal Duty: protection of subjects, taxation, punishment, and appointments
स्विष्टि: स्वधीति: सुतपा लोकाञज्जयति यावत: । क्षणेन तानवाप्रोति प्रजा धर्मेण पालयन्
sviṣṭiḥ svadhītiḥ sutapā lokāñ jayati yāvataḥ | kṣaṇena tān avāpnoti prajā dharmeṇa pālayan ||
Bhishma said: As far as the merit gained by one who duly performs excellent sacrifices, pursues noble Vedic study, and practices austere tapas—thereby winning auspicious worlds—so too does a king attain those very worlds in an instant, if he protects his subjects in accordance with dharma. The verse elevates righteous governance as a swift and powerful path of merit, placing the ethical duty of safeguarding people on par with (and even surpassing in immediacy) the fruits of the traditional āśrama disciplines.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous protection and governance of the people (prajā-pālana) is a supreme dharmic act whose spiritual fruit equals the merit of sacrifice, Vedic study, and austerity—and is said to be attained even more swiftly by a just king.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on śānti and rāja-dharma, he contrasts the merits of the āśrama disciplines (yajña, svādhyāya, tapas) with the king’s duty, asserting that a ruler who upholds dharma by protecting subjects gains the same exalted worlds immediately.