Shloka 15

दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity

Rājadharma

Devanagari script

आशयाश्रोदपानाश्च प्रभूतसलिलाकरा: | निरोद्धव्या: सदा राज्ञा क्षीरिणशक्षु महीरुहा:,जलाशय (तालाब, पोखरे आदि), उदपान (कुँए, बावड़ी आदि), प्रचुर जलराशिसे भरे हुए बड़े-बड़े तालाब तथा दूधवाले वृक्ष--इन सबकी राजाको सदा रक्षा करनी चाहिये

Transliteration

āśayāś codapānāś ca prabhūtasalilākarāḥ | niroddhavyāḥ sadā rājñā kṣīriṇaś ca mahīruhāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “A king must always safeguard reservoirs and water-sources—ponds and tanks, wells and stepwells, and large lakes rich in abundant water—as well as milky, sap-bearing trees. Protecting these supports the people’s welfare and upholds righteous kingship.”

Word by Word

आशया:reservoirs/ponds

उदपानाःwells

चand

प्रभूत-सलिल-आकराःhaving abundant water-reserves

निरोध्याःto be protected/kept from obstruction (i.e., maintained)

सदाalways

राज्ञाby the king

क्षीरिणःmilk-yielding

चand

महीरुहाःtrees (lit. earth-growers)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

king (rājā)

āśaya (reservoirs/ponds)

udapāna (wells/stepwells)

prabhūtasalilākarāḥ (large abundant water-bodies)

kṣīriṇaḥ mahīruhāḥ (milky sap-bearing trees)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s dharma includes protecting essential commons—water bodies (ponds, wells, large reservoirs) and life-sustaining trees—because they secure health, agriculture, and social stability; this is presented as an ongoing royal duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the king that safeguarding water sources and sap-bearing trees is a constant responsibility of governance, emphasizing practical welfare as a component of righteousness.