Shloka 163
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यहाँ राजा और राज्यके लिये जो परम धर्म और परम पवित्र वस्तु है, उसे सुनिये। जिसकी पृथ्वी दक्षिणा-रूपमें दे दी जाती है अर्थात् जो अपनी राज्यभूमिका दान कर देता है, वह अश्वमेध यज्ञके पुण्यफलका भागी होता है ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | iha rājā ca rājyārthe yaḥ paramo dharmaḥ paramā ca pavitrā vastur asti, tāṃ śṛṇu | yasya pṛthivī dakṣiṇā-rūpeṇa dattā bhavati, arthāt yaḥ svāṃ rājyabhūmiṃ dadāti, sa aśvamedha-yajñasya puṇya-phalasya bhāgī bhavati || saham etāni karmāṇi rāja-duḥkhāni maithila | samarthā śataśo vaktum athavāpi sahasraśaḥ | mithilā-nareśa! ye rājānaṃ duḥkhaṃ dadati, tādṛśāni karmāṇi aham iha vaktuṃ śaknomi ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Écoute maintenant quel est le dharma le plus élevé et le principe le plus purificateur pour un roi, et pour le bien du royaume. Celui qui donne la terre elle-même en dakṣiṇā—c’est-à-dire qui fait don de son propre domaine royal—devient participant au mérite acquis par le sacrifice de l’Aśvamedha. Ô Maithila, je puis décrire ici des centaines, voire des milliers, d’actes qui apportent la souffrance à un roi. Ô roi de Mithilā, je puis exposer bien des actions de ce genre qui tourmentent un souverain.»
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma elevates land-gift (donating one’s own royal territory as dakshina) as an exceptionally purifying royal act, equating its merit with participation in the fruit of the Ashvamedha; he also signals that many specific administrative or moral missteps can cause a king great suffering, preparing the listener for a broader discourse on raja-dharma.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance, Bhishma addresses a Maithila ruler (king of Mithila) and begins outlining supreme royal duties: first praising the extraordinary merit of donating land, then stating his capacity to enumerate numerous deeds that bring hardship to kings, introducing a detailed advisory section on the burdens and pitfalls of rulership.