Shloka 5
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
अभिशस्तमिवात्मानं मन्यन्ते येन कर्मणा । तस्माद् राजर्षय: सर्वे ब्राह्मणानन्वपालयन्
abhiśastam ivātmānaṃ manyante yena karmaṇā | tasmād rājarṣayaḥ sarve brāhmaṇān anvapālayan |
Bhīṣma dit : «Quel que soit l’acte par lequel un roi encourt un blâme lié à un brāhmane, il en vient à se considérer comme s’il avait été publiquement condamné. C’est pourquoi tous les rois-sages (rājarṣi), soucieux du dharma et de leur propre dignité morale, ont constamment protégé et pris soin des brāhmanes.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s moral legitimacy is tied to how he treats brāhmaṇas and the learned; wrongdoing that brings blame in relation to them makes the king feel ‘condemned,’ so wise kings protect and support them as a matter of rajadharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on kingship in the Śānti Parva, he explains why earlier royal sages consistently safeguarded brāhmaṇas: any censurable act involving them stains the king’s conscience and reputation, so protection of brāhmaṇas is presented as a practical and ethical duty of rule.