Shloka 2
भीष्म उवाच वस्तव्यं यत्र कौन्तेय सपुत्रज्ञातिबन्धुना । न्याय्यं तत्र परिप्रष्टं वृत्ति गुप्तिंच भारत,भीष्मजीने कहा--भारत! कुन्तीनन्दन! पुत्र, कुटुम्बीजन तथा बन्धुवर्गके साथ राजा जिस नगरमें निवास करे, उसमें जीवन-निर्वाह तथा रक्षाकी व्यवस्थाके सम्बन्धमें तुम्हारा प्रश्न करना न्यायसड्भत है
bhīṣma uvāca: vastavyaṁ yatra kaunteya saputra-jñāti-bandhunā | nyāyyaṁ tatra paripraṣṭaṁ vṛtti-guptiṁ ca bhārata ||
Bhishma said: “O son of Kunti, O Bharata—wherever a king resides together with his sons, kinsmen, and allies, it is proper and in accordance with justice to inquire there about the means of livelihood and the arrangements for protection.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma affirms that questions about a ruler’s arrangements for people’s livelihood (vṛtti) and security (gupti) are not intrusive but ethically appropriate; good governance requires transparent, just provision for sustenance and protection where the king and his household reside.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue on kingship and dharma, Bhishma responds to Yudhishthira, validating his inquiry: in any city where the king lives with his sons and kin, it is right to ask how maintenance and protection are organized.