Shloka 123
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिदस्त्राणि सर्वाणि ब्रह्मुदण्डश्व॒ तेडनघ । विषयोगास्तथा सर्वे विदिता: शत्रुनाशना:
kaccid astrāṇi sarvāṇi brahmadaṇḍaś ca te 'nagha | viṣayogās tathā sarve viditāḥ śatrunāśanāḥ ||
नारद बोले—निष्पाप नरेश! क्या तुम्हें मन्त्रबल से प्रयुक्त होने वाले सब प्रकार के अस्त्र, वेदोक्त दण्ड-विधान तथा शत्रुओं का नाश करने वाले विष-प्रयोगों की सभी विधियाँ ज्ञात हैं?
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames royal competence as comprehensive knowledge of force and restraint: mastery of mantra-weapons and Veda-sanctioned punishment (brahmadaṇḍa) is expected, yet it also raises an ethical tension by including poison-techniques—implying that a ruler must understand even morally dangerous means, while dharma determines whether and how such means may be used.
Nārada addresses a king (vocatively ‘anagha’) and tests his preparedness for rule and conflict by asking whether he has learned all categories of weapons, the orthodox principles of punitive governance, and even enemy-destroying poison applications—probing the breadth of his training in kṣātra and rājadharma.