Shloka 19
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
गुणवान् शीलवान् दान्तो मृदुर्धर्म्यो जितेन्द्रिय: । सुदर्श: स्थूललक्ष्यश्न न भ्रश्येत सदा श्रिय:
guṇavān śīlavān dānto mṛdur dharmyo jitendriyaḥ | sudarśaḥ sthūlalakṣyaś ca na bhraśyet sadā śriyaḥ ||
जो राजा गुणवान, शीलवान, दान्त, कोमलस्वभाव, धर्मपरायण, जितेन्द्रिय, देखने में प्रसन्नमुख तथा उदार-हृदय (बहु-दाता) है, वह कभी राजलक्ष्मी से भ्रष्ट नहीं होता।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal prosperity is sustained not merely by power but by inner discipline and ethical character: virtue, good conduct, gentleness, devotion to dharma, and mastery of the senses are said to prevent a ruler’s decline from Śrī (fortune and sovereignty).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and righteousness, Bhīṣma is advising Yudhiṣṭhira about the traits of a stable, successful ruler, asserting that a king with these qualities does not lose his royal fortune.