Shloka 45
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
यथा हि गर्भिणी हित्वा स्वं प्रियं मनसो5नुगम् । गर्भस्य हितमाधत्ते तथा राज्ञाप्पसंशयम्
yathā hi garbhiṇī hitvā svaṃ priyaṃ manaso'nugam | garbhasya hitam ādhattē tathā rājñā'pi saṃśayam ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ಗರ್ಭಿಣಿ ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ತನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಿಯವಾದ ಆಹಾರ-ಸukhoಗಳನ್ನೂ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿ ಗರ್ಭಸ್ಥ ಶಿಶುವಿನ ಹಿತವನ್ನೇ ಗಮನಿಸುವಂತೆ, ರಾಜನು ಸಹ ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ತನ್ನಿಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟವಾದುದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕಾರ್ಯನಿರ್ವಹಿಸಬೇಕು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous king must practice self-restraint: he should renounce personal likes and pleasures when they conflict with the common good, and govern with unwavering focus on the welfare of the people.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on rajadharma (the duties of kings). Here he uses a domestic, vivid analogy—pregnancy and maternal care—to emphasize that a ruler must prioritize the dependent (subjects) over his own preferences.