Shloka 14
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पश्चात्तापः तथा वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse and Request for Forest-Retirement
अमात्यानुपधातीतान् पितृपैतामहान् शुचीन् । दान्तान् कर्मसु पुण्यांश्व॒ पुण्यान् सर्वेषु योजये:
amātyān upadhātītān pitṛpaitāmahān śucīn | dāntān karmasu puṇyāṁś ca puṇyān sarveṣu yojayet ||
वैशम्पायन बोले—जो परखे हुए और निष्कपट हों, जो पिता-पितामहों के समय से सेवा में रहे हों, जो भीतर-बाहर से शुद्ध, संयमी, तथा जन्म और कर्म से पवित्र हों—ऐसे ही मन्त्रियों को सब प्रकार के उत्तरदायित्वपूर्ण कार्यों में नियुक्त करना चाहिए।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Public responsibility should be entrusted only to ministers who are proven through scrutiny, free from deceit, disciplined, and ethically pure; legitimacy in administration comes from integrity and tested reliability.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a normative instruction on statecraft is given: the ruler should select and assign ministers to important tasks based on proven character, long-standing trustworthy service, and moral discipline.