Shloka 31
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
देवतेव हि सर्वार्थान् कुर्याद् राजा प्रसादित: । वैश्वानर इव क्रुद्धः समूलमपि निर्दहेत्
devateva hi sarvārthān kuryād rājā prasāditaḥ | vaiśvānara iva kruddhaḥ samūlam api nirdahyet |
Bhishma berkata: Bila raja berkenan, ia laksana dewa pelindung yang menuntaskan segala tujuan rakyatnya. Namun bila murka, ia bagaikan api Vaiśvānara yang melalap habis, membinasakan hingga ke akar-akarnya.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s favor and wrath have immense consequences: a pleased king can grant prosperity and fulfill legitimate aims, while an angry king can cause total ruin. Therefore, kings must restrain anger and exercise power with dharma, and subjects should understand the gravity of royal disposition.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira using vivid similes: the king, when gracious, resembles a deity who grants boons; when enraged, he resembles Vaiśvānara-fire that consumes everything down to the roots.