Shloka 14
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
विद्रवेच्चैव राष्ट्र ते श्येनात् पक्षिगणा इव । परिस्रवेच्च सततं नौर्विशीर्णेव सागरे
vidravec caiva rāṣṭra te śyenāt pakṣigaṇā iva | parisravec ca satataṁ naur viśīrṇeva sāgare ||
Bhishma berkata: “Bila engkau berlaku tidak adil, kerajaanmu sendiri akan lari darimu—seperti kawanan burung tercerai-berai karena takut pada elang. Dan negerimu akan terus meluncur pergi, tanpa henti, sebagaimana perahu yang pecah di lautan terseret arus dan lenyap. Maka rakyat, menilaimu sebagai penguasa yang adharma, akan perlahan meninggalkan pemerintahanmu dan pergi ke tempat lain.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy rests on dharma: injustice makes subjects lose trust and disperse. Political power is not merely held by force; it depends on the willing cohesion of the people, which collapses when the king is perceived as adhārmika.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma. Here he warns that if the king behaves unjustly, the realm will ‘flee’—subjects will scatter like birds from a hawk, and the kingdom will steadily slip away like a broken boat drifting in the sea.