Shloka 21
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
विनयेच्चापि दुर्वृत्तान् प्रहारैरपि पार्थिव: । सान्त्वेनोपप्रदानेन शिष्टांश्ष परिपालयेत्,जो अत्यन्त दुराचारी हों, उन्हें मार-पीटकर भी राजा राहपर लानेका प्रयत्न करे तथा जो श्रेष्ठ पुरुष हों, उन्हें मीठी वाणीसे सान्त्वना देते हुए सुख-सुविधाकी वस्तुएँ अर्पित करके उनका पालन करे
vinayec cāpi durvṛttān prahārair api pārthivaḥ | sāntvenopapradānena śiṣṭāṁś ca paripālayet ||
ビーシュマは言った。「王はまた、邪悪で素行の悪い者どもを規律の下に戻すよう努めねばならぬ。必要とあらば懲罰の手段を用いてでもである。だが教養と徳を備えた者には、柔らかな言葉で慰め、安心させ、衣食の備えや安楽を与えて守り養え。かくして統治とは、悪を正す剛と、善を支える敬とを併せ持つべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must apply differentiated means: restrain the wicked through discipline and punishment when needed, while nurturing the virtuous through respectful conciliation and material support—balancing firmness with benevolence as a principle of rājadharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on practical statecraft: how a king should deal with different kinds of subjects—correcting wrongdoers and sustaining the well-conducted.