Shloka 17
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
नारद उवाच कच्चिदर्थाक्ष कल्पन्ते धर्मे च रमते मन: । सुखानि चानुभूयन्ते मनश्न न विहन्यते
nārada uvāca | kaccid arthākṣāḥ kalpante dharme ca ramate manaḥ | sukhāni cānubhūyante manaś ca na vihanyate ||
ナーラダは言った。「王よ、汝の財は、祭祀・布施・家族の保護と扶養といった、生活に欠かせぬ務めを果たすに足りているか。心はダルマに喜びを見いだしているか。望む安楽と享受は得られているか。そして正しい省察に向けられたその心は、惑わす衝動によって乱され、傷つけられることなく保たれているか。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s well-being is measured not only by wealth and pleasure but by whether resources are rightly used for obligatory duties (yajña, dāna, protection), whether the mind delights in dharma, and whether inner stability is maintained without distraction.
Narada addresses the king with a traditional set of welfare-questions: he inquires about the adequacy of the king’s resources, his commitment to dharma, his experience of legitimate enjoyments, and the steadiness of his mind—testing both external governance and inner self-governance.