Shloka 31
उतथ्योपदेशः—राजधर्मः, दर्पनिग्रहः, प्रजारक्षणम्
Utathya’s Instruction: Royal Dharma, Restraint of Pride, Protection of Subjects
निगृहीतादमात्याच्च स्त्रीभ्यश्नैव विशेषतः । पर्वताद् विषमाद् दुर्गाद्धस्तिनो 5श्वात् सरीसूपात्
nigṛhītād amātyāc ca strībhyaś caiva viśeṣataḥ | parvatād viṣamād durgād hastino 'śvāt sarīsṛpāt ||
ウタティヤは言った。「王は、かつて一度でも捕らえられたことのある大臣から身を守り、ことに他人の妻女からは厳重に慎まねばならぬ。また険阻なる山々や攻略し難い要害、さらに象・馬・蛇などの這い回る爬虫のもたらす危難にも備えるべきである。ゆえに常に警戒を怠らず、夜の徘徊を避け、吝嗇・驕慢・偽り・憤怒をことごとく捨て去れ。」
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches rājadharma as practical vigilance and moral discipline: a ruler must avoid predictable sources of danger (political enemies, illicit entanglements, hazardous terrain, and powerful animals) and must also renounce inner vices—miserliness, pride, hypocrisy, and anger—that undermine sound judgment and stable rule.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship, the sage Utathya addresses guidance for a king’s conduct. He lists concrete external threats and then adds an ethical injunction to abandon destructive character traits, framing governance as both security-awareness and self-mastery.