Shloka 52

Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ

Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics

Devanagari script

कच्चिनैको बहूनर्थान्‌ सर्वशः साम्परायिकान्‌ । अनुशास्ति यथाकामं कामात्मा शासनातिग:,तुम्हारे कर्मचारियोंमें कोई ऐसा तो नहीं है, जो अपनी इच्छाके अनुसार चलनेवाला और तुम्हारे शासनका उल्लंघन करनेवाला हो तथा युद्धके सारे साधनों एवं कार्योंकोी अकेला ही अपनी रुचिके अनुसार चला रहा हो?

Transliteration

kaccin naiko bahūn arthān sarvaśaḥ sāmparāyikān | anuśāsti yathākāmaṃ kāmātmā śāsanātigaḥ ||

Translation

Nārada berkata: “Adakah benar bahawa tiada seorang pegawai pun—yang dikuasai nafsu dan melanggar kuasamu—telah mengambil alih untuk mengarah, menurut kehendaknya sendiri, pelbagai urusan kerajaan, termasuk hal-hal perang dan keselamatan muktamad negara?”

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether?, I hope

नnot

एकःone (person)

बहून्many

अर्थान्matters; affairs; purposes

सर्वशःentirely; in every way

साम्परायिकान्pertaining to the future/other world; consequential (esp. afterlife-related)

अनुशास्तिinstructs; governs; directs

यथाas; according to

कामम्desire; wish (i.e., as he wishes)

कामात्माone whose nature is desire; self-willed

शासनातिगःone who transgresses authority/commands

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king must prevent concentration of power in a single, desire-driven official who acts beyond lawful command; effective rule requires oversight, disciplined administration, and control of war-related and high-stakes state affairs.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada, in a sequence of probing questions on kingship, tests whether the ruler’s administration is sound—specifically whether any one employee/minister is independently running major affairs according to personal whim while disregarding royal authority.