Shloka 46
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
वर्तितव्यं कुरुश्रेष्ठ सदा धर्मनिवर्तिना । स्वं प्रियं तु परित्यज्य यद् यलल्लोकहितं भवेत्
bhīṣma uvāca | vartitavyaṃ kuruśreṣṭha sadā dharmanivartinā | svaṃ priyaṃ tu parityajya yad yallokahitaṃ bhavet ||
ビーシュマは言った。「俱盧のうち最勝の者よ、ダルマに導かれる者は常にこのように振る舞うべきだ。己に愛しいものを退け、民の利益となることを行え。孕む女が、好む食や楽しみさえ捨てて胎内の子の善のみを念ずるように、正しき王もまた疑いなく、私欲の好みを棄て、ただ公共の益のために行動すべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A dharma-guided ruler must renounce personal likes and act for lokahita—the welfare of all. Private preference is subordinate to public good, especially in kingship.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira how a king should behave. He uses the analogy of a pregnant woman who gives up desired pleasures for the unborn child’s well-being, illustrating the king’s duty to prioritize subjects’ welfare over his own.