Shloka 383
Draupadī’s Exhortation on Rājadharma and Daṇḍa (द्रौपद्याः राजधर्मोपदेशः)
सपर्वतवनद्दीपां मा राजन् विमना भव | नरेश्वर! धर्मपूर्वक प्रजाका पालन करते हुए पर्वत, वन और द्वीपोंसहित पृथ्वी देवीका शासन कीजिये। इस उदासीन न होइये
sa-parvata-vana-dvīpāṃ mā rājan vimanā bhava | nareśvara dharma-pūrvakaṃ prajāḥ pālayan parvata-vana-dvīpa-sahitāṃ pṛthivīṃ devīṃ śāsaya; anudāsīno mā bhūḥ ||
ಓ ರಾಜನೇ! ಪರ್ವತ, ವನ, ದ್ವೀಪಗಳೊಡನೆ ಇರುವ ಈ ಭೂಮಿಯನ್ನು ಆಳು; ಮನೋನೊಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಡ. ಓ ನರೇಶ್ವರನೇ! ಧರ್ಮಾನುಸಾರವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಜೆಯನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸಿ ಭೂದೇವಿಯನ್ನು ಶಾಸಿಸು.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must not succumb to despair or indifference; he should uphold rajadharma by protecting the people and governing the earth righteously, treating rule as a moral responsibility rather than a personal burden.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Vaiśampāyana narrates counsel addressed to the king, urging him to resume active, dharma-based governance—protecting subjects and administering the realm (symbolized as Earth with her natural domains).