Shloka 37
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
न च क्षान्तेन ते नित्यं भाव्यं पुत्र समन््ततः । अधर्मो हि मृदू राजा क्षमावानिव कुज्जर:
na ca kṣāntena te nityaṃ bhāvyaṃ putra samantataḥ | adharmo hi mṛdū rājā kṣamāvān iva kuñjaraḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「そして我が子よ、いかなる時も、あらゆる場面でも、ただ忍耐だけで身を処してはならぬ。ひたすら柔らかな王はアダルマの乗り物となる—従順に馴らされた象が、どこへでも追い立てられるように。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Forbearance is a virtue, but a ruler must not apply it indiscriminately; excessive softness enables adharma. Effective kingship requires balanced firmness—patience tempered by timely discipline.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma counsels the listener (addressed as “son”) that constant, universal tolerance is unsuitable for a king, illustrating with the image of a compliant elephant that can be misused.