Shloka 33
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
काल प्राप्तमुपादद्यान्नार्थ राजा प्रसूचयेत् । अहन्यहनि संदुह्मान्महीं गामिव बुद्धिमान्
kāla-prāptam upādad yān nārthaṁ rājā prasūcayet | ahany ahani saṁduhmān mahīṁ gām iva buddhimān ||
Bhishma berkata: “Raja yang bijak hendaknya memungut pemasukan hanya ketika waktunya tepat, dan jangan menyingkapkan cara-cara penghimpunan kekayaannya. Hari demi hari, ia hendaknya ‘memerah’ bumi untuk sumber daya sambil melindungi dan memeliharanya—sebagaimana orang arif memerah susu dari sapi sambil menjaganya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Revenue collection must be timely, restrained, and grounded in protection: the king may draw wealth from the realm only while sustaining it, like milking a cow without harming her; additionally, state fiscal strategy should not be openly advertised.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on how a ruler should manage wealth: collect resources at the right time, keep fiscal policy discreet, and ensure extraction is paired with continual care of the land and people.