Shloka 24
Adhyāya 90 — Protection of Livelihoods, Brahmanical Subsistence Norms, and Royal Oversight (राष्ट्रवृत्ति-राष्ट्रगुप्ति-उपदेशः)
कच्चित् कृषिकरा राष्ट्र न जहत्यतिपीडिता: । ये वहन्ति धुरं राज्ञां ते भरन्तीतरानपि
kaccit kṛṣikarā rāṣṭra na jahaty atipīḍitāḥ | ye vahanti dhuraṃ rājñāṃ te bharantītarān api ||
Bhishma said: “I hope the cultivators of your realm, crushed by excessive exactions, are not abandoning the country. For it is they who bear the burden of kings, and it is they who sustain the rest of the people as well.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s prosperity rests on the well-being of cultivators; excessive pressure (especially through harsh levies) drives them away and undermines the entire social order. Ethical governance protects those who produce food and revenue, recognizing them as the foundation that sustains both the state and society.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship (rājadharma), Bhishma questions the ruler about the condition of the realm, specifically whether farmers are being overburdened and leaving. He emphasizes that cultivators carry the king’s fiscal burden and feed everyone else, making their protection a key duty of governance.