Shloka 1
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
ऑपनक्रात बछ। अर: - हाथी
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | dhārmiko 'rthān asamprāpya rājāmātyaiḥ prabādhitaḥ | cyutaḥ kośāc ca daṇḍāc ca sukham icchan kathaṃ caret ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला—पितामह! राजा धर्मात्मा असला, तरीही प्रयत्न करूनही धन मिळत नसेल, आणि मंत्री त्याला त्रास देत असतील, तसेच तो कोश व दंडबल (सेना) यांपासून वंचित झाला असेल—तर सुख व क्षेम इच्छिणाऱ्या त्या राजाने कसे वागावे?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic dilemma in kingship: when a ruler loses wealth and coercive power and is undermined by ministers, what ethical course of conduct remains to preserve welfare and stability without abandoning righteousness.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on royal duty, Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma for guidance about a righteous king who has become powerless—bereft of treasury and enforcement—and is pressured by his own ministers.