Shloka 83

Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ

Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics

Devanagari script

कच्चिद्‌ बलेनानुगता: समानि विषमाणि च | पुराणि चौरान्‌ निध्नन्तश्नरन्ति विषये तव,क्या तुम्हारे राज्यमें कुछ रक्षक पुरुष सेना साथ लेकर चोर-डाकुओंका दमन करते हुए सुगम एवं दुर्गम नगरोंमें विचरते रहते हैं?

Transliteration

kaccid balenānugatāḥ samāni viṣamāṇi ca | purāṇi caurān nidhnantaś caranti viṣaye tava ||

Translation

Nārada berkata: “Adakah para pelindungmu, diiringi angkatan bersenjata, berkeliling di seluruh wilayahmu—melalui daerah yang mudah mahupun yang sukar—mencari dan menumpaskan kumpulan pencuri dan perompak yang telah lama berakar, agar rakyat dapat hidup dengan aman?”

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether?, I hope

बलेनwith force/with an army

अनुगताःaccompanied, following

समानिlevel/easy (places)

विषमाणिuneven/difficult (places)

चand

पुराणिtowns/forts/cities

चौरान्thieves

निघ्नन्तःstriking down, suppressing

चरन्तिthey roam, they move about

विषयेin the territory/realm

तवof you, your

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

viṣaya (the king's realm/territory)

caura (thieves/robbers)

bala (armed force/army)

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 ruler’s dharma includes active protection of the realm: maintaining security through organized patrols, suppressing entrenched criminality, and ensuring safe movement and livelihood for subjects across all regions, easy and difficult alike.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada continues a sequence of probing questions to assess the quality of royal administration, asking whether the king’s guards, supported by military force, regularly patrol the kingdom and curb thieves and robbers throughout the territory.