Shloka 45
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिन्नोग्रेण दण्डेन भृशमुद्धिजसे प्रजा: । राष्ट्र तवानुशासन्ति मन्त्रिणो भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ कठोर दण्डके द्वारा तुम प्रजाजनोंको अत्यन्त उद्धेगमें तो नहीं डाल देते? मन्त्रीलोग तुम्हारे राज्यका न्यायपूर्वक पालन करते हैं न?
kaccin nogreṇa daṇḍena bhṛśam uddvijase prajāḥ | rāṣṭraṃ tavānuśāsanti mantriṇo bharatarṣabha ||
ナーラダは言った。「バーラタ族の雄牛よ、苛烈な刑罰の杖を振るって、民をひどく苦しめてはいないか。さらに、汝の大臣たちは正しい規律と正義に従って国を治めているか。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa) must be measured and just: a ruler should not terrorize subjects through severity, and governance should be carried out through properly guided administration, ideally with ministers upholding fair discipline.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions on statecraft, asks the Bharata king whether he avoids oppressive punishment and whether his ministers are effectively and justly administering the kingdom—testing the ruler’s adherence to rajadharma.