Shloka 5
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
यथा हि रश्मयो<श्वस्य द्विरदस्याड्कुशो यथा । नरेन्द्रधर्मो लोकस्य तथा प्रग्रहणं स्मृतम्
yathā hi raśmayo 'śvasya dviradasyāṅkuśo yathā | narendradharmo lokasya tathā pragrahaṇaṁ smṛtam ||
手綱が馬を制し、鉤棒が象を従わせるように、王のダルマは世の手綱として記憶される。すなわち、社会を正しい限度の内に保ち、無秩序へと走り出すのを防ぐ力をもつ。
युधिषछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal duty (rājadharma) functions as society’s regulating force: like reins and a goad, it restrains excess, maintains boundaries, and keeps the world aligned with order and propriety.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and ethics after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about the necessity of rājadharma, using the metaphor of controlling powerful animals to explain how kingship preserves social stability.