Shloka 16
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
अथ यो<थधर्मत: पाति राजामात्योडथ वा55त्मज: । धर्मासने संनियुक्तो धर्ममूले नरर्षभ
atha yo ’tha dharmataḥ pāti rājāmātyo ’tha vā ’tmajaḥ | dharmāsane saṁniyukto dharmamūle nararṣabha narāśreṣṭha |
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik di antara manusia—entah itu raja, menteri, ataupun putra raja—bila ia ditugaskan duduk di singgasana Dharma (kursi peradilan) yang berakar pada kebenaran, namun tidak melindungi rakyat menurut Dharma, maka ia telah gagal menjalankan amanatnya. Dan para pejabat lain yang mengikuti raja, bila mereka pun mendahulukan kepentingan diri dan tidak memperlakukan rakyat dengan adil, mereka juga jatuh—bersama sang raja—ke neraka.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Those entrusted with judicial and royal authority—king, ministers, and princes—must protect the people according to Dharma; failure in righteous protection and fair conduct brings grave moral consequence, shared by the ruler and his officials.
In the Shanti Parva instruction on statecraft and righteousness, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira with honorifics and warns that rulers and their subordinate officers, when seated in judgment and charged with governance, must act justly toward the subjects or incur collective downfall.