Shloka 8
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
कथं च राजा वर्तेत लोके कलुषतां गते । कथमर्थाच्च धर्माच्च न हीयेत परंतप,परंतप! जब लोग पापपरायण हो जाये, उस अवस्थामें राजा कैसा बर्ताव करे, जिससे वह धर्म और अर्थसे भी भ्रष्ट न हो?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
kathaṃ ca rājā varteta loke kaluṣatāṃ gate |
katham arthāc ca dharmāc ca na hīyeta parantapa ||
युधिष्ठिर म्हणाला—परंतप! जेव्हा लोक पापपरायण होऊन जग कलुषित होते, तेव्हा राजा कसा वागावा? आणि धर्म व अर्थ—या दोन्हींपासून तो कसा ढळू नये?
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central problem of rājadharma: in an age of widespread wrongdoing, a ruler must act in a way that preserves both dharma (justice, moral legitimacy) and artha (effective administration and public welfare), without sacrificing one for the other.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on statecraft and ethics, Yudhiṣṭhira asks a senior authority (addressed as “Parantapa”) how a king should govern when society becomes morally corrupted, seeking guidance on maintaining righteous rule while still securing practical governance.