Shloka 27
भेतव्यं हि सदा राज्ञ: प्रजानामधिपा हि ते । वारयन्ति विकर्मस्थं तृपा मृगमिवेषुभि:
bhetavyaṁ hi sadā rājñaḥ prajānām adhipā hi te | vārayanti vikarmasthaṁ tṛpā mṛgam iveṣubhiḥ ||
One should always stand in awe of the king, for he is indeed the lord and protector of the people. Those who persist in wrongdoing are restrained by him—just as hunters check a deer with their arrows.
व्याध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches rāja-dharma: the king’s authority is meant to protect society by restraining wrongdoing. Respect (even fear/awe) of lawful power functions as a moral deterrent that upholds dharma among the people.
The Vyādha (hunter) is instructing his listener on ethical conduct and social duty, emphasizing the king’s role as guardian of the populace. He illustrates this with a hunting simile: as hunters stop a deer with arrows, so the ruler checks those who persist in unlawful acts.