Shloka 53
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
वान्तं निष्ठीवनं चैव कुर्वते चास्य संनिधौ । निर्लज्जा राजशार्दूल व्याहरन्ति च तद्बच:,राजाके पास ही मुँह बाकर जँभाई लेते और थूकते हैं, नृपश्रेष्ठ! वे मुँहलगे नौकर लाज छोड़कर मनमानी बातें बोलते हैं
vāntaṁ niṣṭhīvanaṁ caiva kurvate cāsya saṁnidhau | nirlajjā rājasārḍūla vyāharanti ca tad-vacaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Jusque devant le roi, ils bâillent la bouche grande ouverte et crachent ; puis, rejetant toute pudeur, ces serviteurs trop familiers parlent comme bon leur semble. Ô tigre parmi les rois, une telle conduite marque le déclin de la discipline et du respect autour d’un souverain.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s authority is sustained by decorum and disciplined proximity: when attendants become overfamiliar—spitting, behaving crudely, and speaking without restraint in the king’s presence—it signals a breakdown of shame (lajjā), respect, and governance. Bhīṣma highlights such behavior as a symptom of administrative and moral decline.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on rājadharma. Here he describes a courtly scene where shameless, overfamiliar servants act indecently and speak impertinently before the king, illustrating how a ruler’s environment can deteriorate when discipline and proper boundaries are not maintained.