Shloka 1
राजा-दैवतत्वम् — The King as a Stabilizing ‘Daivata’ (Divine Function) in Social Order
अपन कराता बछ। अंक सप्तषष्टितमो< ध्याय: राष्ट्रकी रक्षा और उन्नतिके लिये राजाकी आवश्यकताका प्रतिपादन युधिष्ठिर उवाच चातुराश्रम्यमुक्तं ते चातुर्वर्ण्य तथैव च । राष्ट्रस्य यत् कृत्यतमं ततो ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | cāturāśramyam uktaṁ te cāturvarṇyaṁ tathaiva ca | rāṣṭrasya yat kṛtyatamaṁ tato brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Grand-père, tu m’as expliqué les devoirs des quatre āśramas et, de même, ceux des quatre varṇas. Dis-moi maintenant, ô Pitāmaha, quelle est l’obligation première d’un royaume — quelle est la tâche la plus essentielle pour le bien de tout le pays et de tous ceux qui y demeurent ?»
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
After hearing the frameworks of āśrama- and varṇa-dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks the single most crucial duty of the state—implying that social and personal duties require a stable, protected realm and that governance has a paramount ethical responsibility toward the common good.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Pitāmaha’ and, having received instruction on the four āśramas and four varṇas, asks him to state what is the highest and most necessary task of the kingdom as a whole.