Kośārtha-Rājadharma: Ethical Revenue Collection and Social Regulation (कोशार्थ-राजधर्मः)
नियम्या: सर्व एवैते ये राष्ट्स्योपघातका: । एते राष्ट्रेईभितिष्ठन्तो बाधन्ते भद्विका: प्रजा:
niyamyāḥ sarva evaite ye rāṣṭrasyopaghātakāḥ | ete rāṣṭre ’bhitiṣṭhanto bādhante bhadrikāḥ prajāḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Tous ceux qui nuisent au royaume doivent être contenus. Si on les laisse demeurer et s’établir dans le pays, ils entravent et harcèlent les sujets vertueux et bien gouvernés, devenant de graves obstacles au bien-être du peuple et à l’ordre moral de l’État.
भीष्य उवाच
A king must protect social and moral order by restraining those who harm the state and who obstruct the welfare of respectable, law-abiding subjects; governance includes active regulation and punishment when needed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhishma advises the ruler that people who damage the kingdom should not be allowed to entrench themselves in the realm, because their presence becomes a direct obstacle to the well-being of good citizens.