Shloka 3
राष्ट्रगुप्ति-संग्रहः
Protection of the Realm and Principles of Revenue & Local Administration
ग्रामस्थाधिपति: कार्यो दशग्राम्यास्तथा पर: । द्विगुणाया: शतस्यैवं सहस्रस्य च कारयेत्,एक गाँवका, दस गाँवोंका, बीस गाँवोंका, सौ गाँवोंका तथा हजार गाँवोंका अलग- अलग एक-एक अधिपति बनाना चाहिये
grāmasthādhipatiḥ kāryo daśagrāmyās tathā paraḥ | dviguṇāyāḥ śatasyaivaṁ sahasrasya ca kārayet ||
Bhishma said: A superintendent should be appointed for a single village, and likewise another for a group of ten villages. In the same manner, one should appoint officers for larger jurisdictions—twenty villages, a hundred villages, and even a thousand—so that governance remains orderly, accountable, and responsive at every level.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Effective rule depends on structured, tiered administration: appoint responsible officers over progressively larger groups of villages so duties, oversight, and accountability are clearly distributed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises the king on practical statecraft—how to organize local governance by appointing chiefs for village-level and multi-village jurisdictions.