Shloka 25
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
दानमध्ययन यज्ञ प्रजानां परिपालनम् । धर्ममेतदधर्म वा जन्मनैवाभ्यजायथा:,दान, वेदाध्ययन, यज्ञ तथा प्रजाका पालन--ये धर्मरूप हों या अधर्मरूप। तुम्हारा जन्म इन्हीं कर्मोको करनेके लिये हुआ है
dānam adhyayanaṃ yajñaḥ prajānāṃ paripālanam | dharmam etad adharmaṃ vā janmanaivābhyajāyathāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Charity, study of the Veda, sacrifice, and the protection and governance of the people—whether these acts take the form of dharma or slip into adharma, you are born into your station precisely to undertake these duties. The moral weight lies in how they are performed, but the obligation to perform them is inherent in your very birth and role.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Certain foundational duties—giving, sacred learning, sacrifice, and protecting the people—are intrinsic to one’s social role; they must be undertaken, and their ethical quality (dharma or adharma) depends on intention, method, and justice in execution.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct and governance, Bhishma is advising about the obligatory works tied to one’s station—especially the responsibilities connected with public welfare and religious-social order.