Shloka 44
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
बालानपि च गर्भस्थान् सान्त्वेन समुदाचरन् | रज्जयन् प्रकृती: सर्वा: परिपाहि वसुन्धराम्,जिनके उत्तराधिकारी अभी बालक हों या गर्भमें हों, उनकी प्रजाको समझा-बुझाकर सान्त्वनाद्वारा शान्न्त करो और सारी प्रजाका मनोरंजन करते हुए इस पृथ्वीका पालन करो
bālān api ca garbhasthān sāntvena samudācaran | rajjayan prakṛtīḥ sarvāḥ paripāhi vasundharām ||
ज्यांचे वारस बालक असतील किंवा गर्भस्थ असतील, त्यांच्या प्रजेशी सान्त्वनापूर्वक वाग; सर्व प्रजेला प्रसन्न ठेवून या वसुंधरेचे पालन कर.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s duty is to preserve stability and welfare through sāntva—calm, reassuring, humane governance—especially during succession uncertainty (when heirs are minors or unborn). The king protects the realm by keeping the entire populace content and secure.
Vyāsa instructs the ruler on practical rājadharma: even if the legitimate successor cannot yet rule, the king must manage the kingdom by consoling and steadying the people, maintaining public confidence, and safeguarding the earth (the state).