Shloka 76

Devanagari script

तत्र हानेकपायत्तं राज्ञो भवति भारत । जो सत्कारप्राप्त व्यक्ति सौ गाँवोंका अध्यक्ष हो, वह एक गाँवकी आमदनीको उपभोगमें ला सकता है। भरतश्रेष्ठ! वह गाँव बहुत बड़ी बस्तीवाला, मनुष्योंसे भरपूर और धन-धान्यसे सम्पन्न हो। भरतनन्दन! उसका प्रबन्ध राजाके अधीनस्थ अनेक अधिपतियोंके अधिकारमें रहना चाहिये

Transliteration

tatra hānekapāyattaṁ rājño bhavati bhārata | yaḥ satkāraprāptaḥ vyaktiḥ śata-grāmāṇām adhyakṣaḥ syāt sa eka-grāmasya āmadānīṁ upabhogeṁ lātuṁ śaknoti | bhārataśreṣṭha! sa grāmaḥ bahu-basti-yuktaḥ manuṣyaiḥ paripūrṇaḥ dhana-dhānya-sampannaś ca bhavet | bharatanandana! tasya prabandhaḥ rājādhīnastha-aneka-adhipatīnām adhikāreṣu vartitavyaḥ |

Translation

Bhishma dit : En cette matière, ô Bharata, l’administration du roi doit reposer sur de nombreux officiers responsables. Un homme qui a gagné l’estime publique, s’il est nommé surintendant de cent villages, peut être autorisé à jouir du revenu d’un village pour son entretien. Ce village doit être une grande agglomération, bien peuplée, riche en biens et en grains. Ô descendant de Bharata, sa gestion doit demeurer sous l’autorité de plusieurs chefs subordonnés au roi, afin que le gouvernement soit stable, contrôlable et non concentré dans une seule main.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there

• in that matter', 'hā': 'indeed (emphatic particle, as read in context)', 'aneka': 'many', 'āyatta': 'dependent on

• entrusted to', 'rājñaḥ': 'of the king', 'bhavati': 'is

• should be', 'bhārata': 'O Bharata (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'satkāra-prāpta': 'having obtained honor/respect

• esteemed', 'vyaktiḥ (puruṣaḥ implied)': 'person', 'śata-grāma': 'a hundred villages', 'adhyakṣa': 'superintendent

• overseer', 'eka-grāma': 'one village', 'āmadānī (āya/āyaḥ)': 'income

• revenue', 'upabhoga': 'enjoyment

• use (as allowance/maintenance)', 'grāma': 'village', 'basti': 'settlement

• habitation', 'manuṣya': 'people

• inhabitants', 'paripūrṇa': 'full

• well supplied', 'dhana': 'wealth', 'dhānya': 'grain

• produce', 'sampanna': 'prosperous

• endowed', 'bharataśreṣṭha / bharatanandana': 'O best of the Bharatas / O joy of the Bharatas (address)', 'prabandha': 'management

• administration', 'rājādhīnastha': 'subordinate to the king', 'adhipati': 'chief

• officer', 'adhikāra': 'authority

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Bharata (Yudhishthira as addressee)
• King (rājā)
• Village superintendent (adhyakṣa)
• Subordinate chiefs/officers (adhipati)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Effective and ethical governance requires decentralization with accountability: respected officials may be compensated through limited, defined revenue rights, but administration should remain distributed among multiple subordinate authorities under the king to prevent misuse and ensure stability.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on how a king should structure local administration—appointing reputable overseers, assigning them a measured livelihood from revenue, and keeping village management under several king-subordinate chiefs.