Shloka 15
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
राज्यमेव पर धर्म क्षत्रियस्य विदुर्बुधा: । स क्षत्रधर्मविद् राजा मा धर्म्यान्नीनश: पथ:,“विद्वानोंने राज्यको ही क्षत्रियका सर्वोत्तम धर्म माना है। आप क्षत्रियधर्मके ज्ञाता नरेश हैं। धर्मके मार्गसे विचलित न होइये
rājyam eva para dharmaḥ kṣatriyasya vidur budhāḥ | sa kṣatradharmavid rājā mā dharmyān nīnaśaḥ pathaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “The wise know that the highest duty of a kṣatriya is kingship itself—upholding rule and protection. You are a king who understands the kṣatriya’s code; do not deviate from the righteous path.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
For a kṣatriya, the highest dharma is responsible kingship—protecting order and society through righteous governance. A ruler who knows this duty should not abandon the dharmic path even under pressure.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, underscores a normative principle of royal ethics: wise authorities regard rule (rājya) as the kṣatriya’s foremost duty, and he urges the addressed king to remain steadfast in dharma rather than waver.