Shloka 81
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
ततः कृतयुगे धर्मो नाधर्मो विद्यते क्वचित् । सर्वेषामेव वर्णानां नाधर्मे रमते मन:
tataḥ kṛtayuge dharmo nādharmo vidyate kvacit | sarveṣām eva varṇānāṃ nādharme ramate manaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Alors, dans le Kṛta (Satya) Yuga, le dharma seul prévaut ; l’adharma ne se trouve nulle part. L’esprit des hommes de toute varṇa ne prend pas plaisir au méfait.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In the ideal age (Kṛta/Satya Yuga), righteousness is not merely taught but becomes the natural condition of society: adharma is absent, and even the inner inclination (mind) of all varṇas does not relish wrongdoing.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, describes the moral character of the Kṛta Yuga as a benchmark: universal presence of dharma and the disappearance of adharma from both public life and private desire.