Shloka 24
मा ते राष्ट्र याचनका भूवन्मा चापि दस्यव: । एषां दातार एवैते नैते भूतस्य भावका:,तुम्हारे राज्यमें भिखमंगे और लुटेरे न हों; क्योंकि ये प्रजाके धनको केवल छीननेवाले हैं, उनके ऐश्वर्यको बढ़ानेवाले नहीं हैं
mā te rāṣṭre yācakā bhūvan mā cāpi dasyavaḥ | eṣāṃ dātāra evāite naite bhūtasya bhāvakāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Let there be no beggars in your kingdom, nor any robbers. Such people are merely takers of the people’s wealth; they do not increase the prosperity of the realm.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s duty is to ensure social and economic conditions where people are not driven into begging and where theft and banditry do not flourish. Such elements drain the wealth of the subjects and do not contribute to the growth of collective prosperity; therefore, the king must protect livelihoods and maintain law and order.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on rajadharma (the duties of kingship). Here he advises that the kingdom should be administered so that beggary and robbery are absent, emphasizing that these conditions harm the people and weaken the realm’s prosperity.