Shloka 35
Adhyāya 64: Dāna-prakāra—Suvarṇa, Pānīya-dāna, Ghṛta-dāna, and Upakaraṇa-dāna
Utility Gifts
अथाहु: सर्वमेवैति भूयो<5र्धमिति निश्चय: । चतुर्थ मतमस्माकं मनो: श्रुत्वानुशासनम्
atha āhuḥ sarvam evaiti bhūyo 'rdham iti niścayaḥ | caturthaṁ matam asmākaṁ manoḥ śrutvānūśāsanam ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Unos afirman que todo el peso del pecado recae sobre el rey; otros están convencidos de que el rey carga con más de la mitad. Pero, tras escuchar la instrucción de Manu, nuestra conclusión es esta: el rey recibe solo la cuarta parte de ese pecado».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma reports differing views on how much sin a king incurs for wrongdoing in his realm, and endorses Manu’s rule: the king bears a defined, limited share—one quarter—rather than the whole or more than half. The point is to frame royal responsibility as real but proportionate, distributed among other responsible agents as well.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially duties and accountability of rulers), he cites competing opinions and then appeals to Manu as authoritative. He states his settled conclusion based on Manu’s ordinance regarding the king’s fractional share in the sin arising from subjects’ misdeeds or governance failures.