Shloka 3
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
भीष्म उवाच निग्रहेण च पापानां साधूनां संग्रहेण च । यज्ञैदनिश्व राजानो भवन्ति शुचयो5मला:
bhīṣma uvāca | nigraheṇa ca pāpānāṃ sādhūnāṃ saṃgraheṇa ca | yajñaiś ca dānaiś ca rājanō bhavanti śucayo 'malāḥ ||
Bhishma said: O king, by restraining and punishing the wicked, by supporting and honoring the virtuous, and by performing sacrifices and giving gifts, kings become free from every taint and attain purity and stainlessness.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king becomes morally purified through three pillars of righteous rule: (1) restraining/punishing the wicked, (2) protecting and honoring the virtuous, and (3) sustaining sacrificial and charitable duties (yajña and dāna).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhishma addresses the king (Yudhishthira) and explains how a ruler maintains purity and legitimacy: by enforcing justice, fostering the good, and upholding public religious and charitable obligations.