Shloka 22
Śānti Parva 116: Criteria for Royal Servants and Administrative Competence (भृत्य-गुण-प्रश्नः / राजसेवक-लक्षणम्)
व्यवहारक्ष नगरे यस्य कर्मफलोदय: । दृश्यते शंखलिखित: स धर्मफलभाडू नृप:
vyavahārakṣa nagare yasya karmaphalodayaḥ | dṛśyate śaṅkhalikhitaḥ sa dharmaphalabhāg nṛpaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。聖仙シャンカとリキタが定め記した法に従い、行いに応じて結果が配される整然たる裁きが、その都において見て取れる王は、ダルマの果報を分かち受ける者とみなされる。君主の功徳は、公正な統治によって公の秩序を保ち、道徳の因果を世に働かせるところにある。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler gains merit not merely by personal piety but by sustaining a just legal order in which people receive outcomes aligned with their actions; upholding fair, dharma-based administration makes the king a participant in the fruits of Dharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction on royal duty in the Śānti Parva, he praises the king whose city visibly follows the judicial norms attributed to the sages Śaṅkha and Likhita, ensuring that justice and karmic accountability are effectively realized through governance.