Shloka 78

Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ

Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics

Devanagari script

कच्चिद्‌ राष्ट्र तडागानि पूर्णानि च बृहन्ति च । भागशो विनिविष्टानि न कृषिर्देवमातृका

Transliteration

kaccid rāṣṭra-taḍāgāni pūrṇāni ca bṛhanti ca | bhāgaśo viniviṣṭāni na kṛṣir devamātṛkā ||

Translation

ナーラダは言った。「告げよ—国の各地に、大きな貯水池や池を築き、水を満たして、諸地方にしかるべく配してあるか。農はただ雨にのみ頼るべきではない。国の繁栄は、計画された灌漑と先見の明にかかっている。」

Word by Word

• कच्चित्: whether indeed? (interrogative particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित्

• राष्ट्र: in/with regard to the kingdom (realm)
• राष्ट्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तडागानि: ponds, tanks
• तडागानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तडाग
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• पूर्णानि: full (filled)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बृहन्ति: large, great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बृहन्त्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भागशः: by parts; in each region/section
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भागशः

• विनिविष्टानि: placed, arranged, established
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नि-विश्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative, Plural, Passive (PPP sense)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• कृषिः: agriculture, cultivation
• कृषिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृषि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• देवमातृका: dependent on the gods (i.e., on rain) as its mother/support
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव-मातृका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• rāṣṭra (the kingdom)
• taḍāga (ponds/tanks/reservoirs)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king’s dharma includes proactive public works: ensuring water storage and irrigation across the realm so that farming and livelihoods are not precariously dependent on rainfall. Good governance is measured by foresight, equitable distribution of resources, and protection from predictable scarcity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is questioning the ruler about the condition of the kingdom. This verse is part of a welfare-audit: he asks whether large, well-sited water tanks exist in all regions, emphasizing that agriculture should not rely only on rain.