Shloka 15
दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity
Rājadharma
आशयाश्रोदपानाश्च प्रभूतसलिलाकरा: | निरोद्धव्या: सदा राज्ञा क्षीरिणशक्षु महीरुहा:
āśayāś codapānāś ca prabhūtasalilākarāḥ | niroddhavyāḥ sadā rājñā kṣīriṇaś ca mahīruhāḥ ||
भीष्म म्हणाले— जलाशय, उदपान (विहिरी-बावडी), भरपूर पाण्याने भरलेले मोठे तलाव-सर, तसेच दुधाळ रस देणारी झाडे—यांचे रक्षण राजाने सदैव करावे. यांचे संरक्षण झाले तर प्रजेचे कल्याण होते आणि धर्मयुक्त राजधर्म दृढ राहतो।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes protecting essential commons—water bodies (ponds, wells, large reservoirs) and life-sustaining trees—because they secure health, agriculture, and social stability; this is presented as an ongoing royal duty.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the king that safeguarding water sources and sap-bearing trees is a constant responsibility of governance, emphasizing practical welfare as a component of righteousness.