Shloka 28
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
तस्मात् तीक्षण: प्रजा राजा स्वधर्मे स्थापयेत् ततः । अन्योन्यं भक्षयन्तो हि प्रचरेयुर्वका इव
tasmāt tīkṣṇaḥ prajā rājā svadharme sthāpayet tataḥ | anyonyaṁ bhakṣayanto hi pracareyur vakā iva ||
Ainsi, un roi ferme et rigoureux doit établir le peuple dans ses devoirs propres (svadharma). Sinon, la multitude, se dévorant les uns les autres, errerait sans frein comme des loups—se prenant mutuellement pour proie dans l’effondrement de l’ordre.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that effective kingship requires firm enforcement of dharma: a ruler must keep people established in their proper duties; without such restraint, society collapses into mutual predation and lawlessness.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira about governance, warning that if a king is not stern in upholding order, the subjects will harm one another and wander unchecked like wolves.