Shloka 10
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
तादृशात् किल्बिषाद् राजा शृणु येन प्रमुच्यते । प्रत्याहर्तुमशक्यं स्याद् धन॑ चोरै्ह्वत॑ यदि । तत् स्वकोशातृ् प्रदेयं स्पादशक्तेनोपजीवत:
tādṛśāt kilbiṣād rājā śṛṇu yena pramucyate | pratyāhartum aśakyaṃ syād dhanaṃ corair hṛtaṃ yadi | tat svakośāt pradeyaṃ syād aśaktenopajīvataḥ ||
Bhishma said: Listen, O king, to the means by which one is freed from such a sin. If thieves or robbers have carried off someone’s wealth, and the king is unable to recover and restore it, then that king should compensate the dependent person by giving an equivalent amount from his own royal treasury.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler bears responsibility for protecting subjects’ property; if he cannot recover stolen wealth, he should compensate the victim from the royal treasury to avoid moral fault and to uphold justice.
In Bhishma’s instruction on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, he tells the king that when theft occurs and recovery is impossible, the king should make the victim whole by paying an equivalent amount from state funds.