Shloka 23
राजधर्मः—प्रमादवर्जनं, दण्डनीतिः, दुर्बलरक्षणम्
Royal Dharma: Vigilance, Just Punishment, Protection of the Vulnerable
युक्ता यदा जानपदा भिक्षन्ते ब्राह्मणा इव । अभीदक्षणं भिक्षुरूपेण राजानं घ्नन्ति तादृूशा:
yuktā yadā jānāpadā bhikṣante brāhmaṇā iva | abhīdakṣiṇaṃ bhikṣurūpeṇa rājānaṃ ghnanti tādṛśāḥ ||
Utathya dit : «Lorsque les gens du pays, ligués en groupes, vont mendier comme des brahmanes et, sous le déguisement de mendiants, agissent sans crainte ni retenue, de tels hommes finissent par abattre le roi.»
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s downfall can come when disorderly groups exploit the appearance of religious poverty to mask coercion and violence; true dharma requires both genuine piety and the protection of social order.
Utathya warns that when villagers/subjects organize and begin roaming as if they were Brahmins seeking alms, they may actually be impostors—bold, fear-free, and violent—who, under the guise of mendicants, end up destroying the king.