Shloka 33
Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna
Utility Gifts
अहं वो रक्षितेत्युक्त्वा यो न रक्षति भूमिप: । स संहत्य निहन्तव्य: श्वेव सोन्न्माद आतुर:
ahaṃ vo rakṣiteti uktvā yo na rakṣati bhūmipaḥ | sa saṃhatya nihantavyaḥ śveva sonmāda āturaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: “Aquel rey que, tras declarar: ‘Yo os protegeré’, no protege en realidad (a su pueblo), debe ser abatido por acción unida—como a un perro aquejado de rabia.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy rests on protection: if a king promises protection and then fails to safeguard his people, he violates rājadharma and may be forcibly removed by collective action for the public good.
Bhīṣma, instructing on rājadharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, states a severe norm of accountability: a king who breaks his pledge to protect should be dealt with decisively, compared to restraining or killing a rabid dog that endangers others.