Shloka 39
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
क्षममाण्ं नृपं नित्यं नीच: परिभवेज्जन: । हस्तियन्ता गजस्यैव शिर एवारुरुक्षति,“नीच मनुष्य क्षमाशील राजाका सदा उसी प्रकार तिरस्कार करते रहते हैं, जैसे हाथीका महावत उसके सिरपर ही चढ़े रहना चाहता है”
kṣamamāṇaṃ nṛpaṃ nityaṃ nīcaḥ paribhavej janaḥ | hastiyantā gajasyaiva śira evārurukṣati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王が絶えず忍耐し寛容であるなら、卑しい者どもは繰り返し侮り、限度を越えて踏み込んでくる。象使いが象を扱うとき、しきりにその頭へよじ登って座ろうとするように、心の卑しい者は忍耐深い統治者の頭上に乗り続けるのだ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma warns that unchecked forbearance in a ruler can invite contempt from the ignoble; patience must be balanced with timely discipline so that authority and dharma are not undermined.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) using a vivid simile: low people keep pressing upon a constantly tolerant ruler, like a mahout repeatedly climbing onto an elephant’s head.