Shloka 25
मृत्यु-काल-प्रबोधनम् (Instruction on Mortality, Time, and Truth) — Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 169
तस्य विस्तीर्यते राज्यं ज्योत्स्ना ग्रहपतेरिव । प्रभो! जो अपनी शक्तिके अनुसार कर्तव्यका ठीक-ठीक पालन करते और संतुष्ट रहते हैं
tasya vistīryate rājyaṃ jyotsnā grahapater iva |
Bhīṣma dit : Le royaume de ce roi s’accroît et s’étend—comme la clarté lunaire du seigneur des astres (la Lune). Dans l’ordre éthique, ce vers loue le souverain qui s’allie à des hommes véritablement excellents : lorsqu’un roi s’unit à des compagnons fermes, disciplinés, dignes de confiance et accordés au dharma, sa souveraineté grandit d’elle-même, comme la lumière de la lune qui emplit la nuit.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s power and stability grow when he aligns himself with virtuous, disciplined, trustworthy people; ethical alliances and good counsel cause the realm to expand naturally, like moonlight spreading from the Moon.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira on statecraft and conduct, using a poetic simile: the king who makes concord with excellent men sees his kingdom broaden like the Moon’s radiance.