Shloka 18

राष्ट्रगुप्ति-संग्रहः

Protection of the Realm and Principles of Revenue & Local Administration

Devanagari script

नोच्छिन्द्यादात्मनो मूलं परेषां चापि तृष्णया

Transliteration

nocchindyād ātmano mūlaṁ pareṣāṁ cāpi tṛṣṇayā

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Out of craving, a king should not cut off the very root of his own welfare—nor that of others. He must not, driven by excessive greed, destroy the people’s life-supports such as agriculture and livelihood. Closing the doors of avarice, he should become one whose very sight is pleasing to all subjects; for if a ruler becomes notorious for over-exaction and exploitation, the entire populace comes to hate him.”

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'ucchindyāt (√chid)': 'should cut off, destroy, uproot', 'ātmanas': 'of oneself

• one’s own', 'mūlam': 'root

• source of stability', 'pareṣām': 'of others

• of the people/subjects', 'ca api': 'and also', 'tṛṣṇayā': 'by thirst/craving

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājā (king)
• prajā (subjects/people)
• kṛṣi (agriculture; implied by ‘kheti-bāṛī’ in the given context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler must restrain greed and avoid policies that uproot the economic and social foundations of both the kingdom and the people—especially livelihoods like agriculture. Excessive extraction breeds public hatred and undermines the king’s own stability.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (the duties of kings). Here he warns that craving-driven exploitation—such as harming the people’s means of living—destroys the kingdom’s root and turns the populace against the ruler.