Shloka 45
विराट उवाच बहुश: प्रतिषिद्धोडसि न च वाचं नियच्छसि । नियन्ता चेन्न विद्येत न कश्चिद् धर्ममाचरेत्,विराटने कहा--कंक! मैंने बहुत बार मना किया, तो भी तू अपनी जबान नहीं बंद कर रहा है। सच है, यदि शासन करनेवाला राजा न हो, तो कोई भी धर्मका आचरण नहीं कर सकता
virāṭa uvāca | bahuśaḥ pratiṣiddho 'si na ca vācaṃ niyacchasi | niyantā cen na vidyeta na kaścid dharmam ācaret |
Virāṭa said: “Though I have forbidden you many times, you still do not restrain your speech. Indeed, if there were no ruler to enforce order, no one would be able to practice dharma.”
विराट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links dharma to effective restraint and governance: without a legitimate enforcer of order (niyantā, the king), social discipline collapses and people cease to practice righteous conduct. It underscores the ethical function of kingship as protection and regulation, not merely power.
King Virāṭa rebukes Kaṅka for speaking despite repeated prohibitions. In the course of scolding him, Virāṭa generalizes the point into a political-ethical claim: rule and restraint are necessary conditions for dharma to be observed in society.