Shloka 23
राजधर्मः—प्रमादवर्जनं, दण्डनीतिः, दुर्बलरक्षणम्
Royal Dharma: Vigilance, Just Punishment, Protection of the Vulnerable
युक्ता यदा जानपदा भिक्षन्ते ब्राह्मणा इव । अभीदक्षणं भिक्षुरूपेण राजानं घ्नन्ति तादृूशा:
yuktā yadā jānāpadā bhikṣante brāhmaṇā iva | abhīdakṣiṇaṃ bhikṣurūpeṇa rājānaṃ ghnanti tādṛśāḥ ||
Utathya berkata: “Ketika rakyat negeri berkelompok dan mengemis seperti para Brahmana, maka orang-orang semacam itu—dengan menyamar sebagai pengemis, tanpa takut dan tanpa kendali—pada akhirnya menjatuhkan sang raja.”
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s downfall can come when disorderly groups exploit the appearance of religious poverty to mask coercion and violence; true dharma requires both genuine piety and the protection of social order.
Utathya warns that when villagers/subjects organize and begin roaming as if they were Brahmins seeking alms, they may actually be impostors—bold, fear-free, and violent—who, under the guise of mendicants, end up destroying the king.