Shloka 34
Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna
Utility Gifts
जो राजा प्रजासे यह कहकर कि “मैं तुमलोगोंकी रक्षा करूँगा” उनकी रक्षा नहीं करता, वह पागल और रोगी कुत्तेकी तरह सबके द्वारा मार डालने योग्य है ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | yo rājā prajābhyaḥ “ahaṃ yuṣmān rakṣiṣyāmi” iti uktvā tāḥ na rakṣati, sa unmattavat rogi-śunavat ca sarvaiḥ hantum arhati || pāpaṃ kurvanti yat kiñcit prajā rājñā hy arakṣitāḥ | caturthaṃ tasya pāpasya rājā vindati bhārata ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: El rey que dice a sus súbditos: «Yo os protegeré», y sin embargo no los protege, se vuelve como un perro loco y enfermo—digno de ser muerto por todos. Y cualquier pecado que el pueblo cometa al quedar sin la protección del rey, oh Bharata, el propio rey recibe una cuarta parte de ese pecado.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy rests on protecting the people; if he neglects this duty after promising protection, he becomes blameworthy and punishable. Moreover, the king is morally complicit: when subjects commit wrong due to lack of protection and order, the king incurs one-fourth of that sin.
In Bhishma’s instruction on rajadharma to Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as ‘Bharata’), he lays down a strict standard for kingship: failure to protect subjects is a grave breach of duty, and the king shares in the moral consequences of social disorder that results from his negligence.