Shloka 45
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चिन्नोग्रेण दण्डेन भृशमुद्धिजसे प्रजा: । राष्ट्र तवानुशासन्ति मन्त्रिणो भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ कठोर दण्डके द्वारा तुम प्रजाजनोंको अत्यन्त उद्धेगमें तो नहीं डाल देते? मन्त्रीलोग तुम्हारे राज्यका न्यायपूर्वक पालन करते हैं न?
kaccin nogreṇa daṇḍena bhṛśam uddvijase prajāḥ | rāṣṭraṃ tavānuśāsanti mantriṇo bharatarṣabha ||
Nārada berkata: “Wahai banteng di antara kaum Bharata, adakah engkau dengan tongkat hukuman yang keras telah sangat menyesakkan rakyatmu? Dan adakah para menterimu mentadbir serta memerintah kerajaanmu menurut disiplin dan keadilan yang sewajarnya?”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa) must be measured and just: a ruler should not terrorize subjects through severity, and governance should be carried out through properly guided administration, ideally with ministers upholding fair discipline.
Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions on statecraft, asks the Bharata king whether he avoids oppressive punishment and whether his ministers are effectively and justly administering the kingdom—testing the ruler’s adherence to rajadharma.