Shloka 43
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
चातुराश्रम्यमैकाग्र्यं चातुर्वर्ण्य च पाण्डव । धर्म पुरुषशार्दूल प्राप्स्यसे पालने रत:,पुरुषसिंह पाण्डुनन्दन! यदि तुम प्रजाके पालनमें तत्पर रहोगे तो चारों आश्रमोंके, चारों वर्णोके तथा एकाग्रताके धर्मको प्राप्त कर लोगे
cāturāśramyam aikāgryaṃ cāturvarṇyaṃ ca pāṇḍava | dharmaṃ puruṣaśārdūla prāpsyase pālane rataḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô Pāṇḍava, tigre parmi les hommes — si tu demeures voué à la protection et au gouvernement de tes sujets, tu atteindras le dharma qui soutient les quatre āśramas et les quatre varṇas, ainsi que la discipline d’une fermeté unifiée. Autrement dit, une royauté consciencieuse devient le moyen de maintenir tout l’ordre social et spirituel, et d’accomplir ta propre droiture.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king who is sincerely devoted to protecting and sustaining his people fulfills not only political duty but also the broader dharma that supports the four āśramas and four varṇas; good governance is presented as a spiritual-ethical discipline requiring focused steadiness (aikāgrya).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, assuring him that committed guardianship of the realm and subjects leads to the attainment of comprehensive dharma—social, moral, and inner—rather than being merely administrative work.