Shloka 48
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिद् बलस्य ते मुख्या: सर्वयुद्धविशारदा: । धृष्टावदाता विक्रान्तास्त्वया सत्कृत्य मानिता:,तुम्हारी सेनाके मुख्य-मुख्य दलपति सब प्रकारके युद्धोंमें चतुर, धृष्ट (निर्भय), निष्कपट और पराक्रमी हैं न? तुम उनका यथोचित सत्कार एवं सम्मान करते हो न?
kaccid balasya te mukhyāḥ sarvayuddhaviśāradāḥ | dhṛṣṭāvadātā vikrāntās tvayā satkṛtya mānitāḥ ||
ナーラダは言った。「告げよ。汝の軍の主要な将たちは、あらゆる戦いに通じ—大胆不敵で、心は率直、行いに汚れなく、まことに勇猛であるか。さらに汝は、しかるべき礼遇と敬意、そして相応の顕彰をもって彼らを遇しているか。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s strength depends not only on military skill but on ethical leadership: appoint capable, fearless, upright commanders and maintain their loyalty through proper respect, recognition, and fair treatment.
Nārada continues a sequence of welfare-questions to the ruler, probing the condition of the kingdom. Here he asks whether the army’s principal leaders are competent and virtuous, and whether the king honors them appropriately—an indirect test of governance and preparedness.