Shloka 3
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
केन वै वर्धते राष्ट्र राजा केन विवर्धते । केन पौराश्च भृत्याश्न वर्धन्ते भरतर्षभ
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kena vai vardhate rāṣṭraṁ rājā kena vivardhate | kena paurāś ca bhṛtyāś ca vardhante bharatarṣabha ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Par quels moyens un royaume prospère-t-il véritablement ? Par quels moyens un roi s’élève-t-il à une plus grande floraison ? Et par quels moyens les citadins ainsi que les dépendants qu’il faut entretenir prospèrent-ils aussi, ô taureau parmi les Bharata ?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central Rajadharma inquiry: the prosperity of the realm, the ruler, and the people is not accidental but depends on specific causes—right governance, just policy, and proper maintenance of dependents—inviting a dharmic analysis of what makes a state flourish.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and peace, Vaiśampāyana poses (or reports) a set of guiding questions to a Bharata leader about the means by which the kingdom, the king, and the citizens/retainers increase in well-being, setting up the ensuing counsel on statecraft and duty.