Shloka 7
Gārhasthya-Śreṣṭhatā and Kṣatriya-Daṇḍadhāraṇa
Householder Primacy and the Royal Duty of Punishment
वेदज्ञानं च ते कृत्स्नं तपश्चाचरितं महत् । पितृपैतामहं राज्यं धुर्यवद् वोढुमरहसि,तुम्हें वेदका पूरा-पूरा ज्ञान है, तुमने बड़ी भारी तपस्या की है। इसलिये अपने पिता- पितामहोंके इस राज्यका भार तुम्हें एक धुरन्धर पुरुषकी भाँति वहन करना चाहिये
vedajñānaṃ ca te kṛtsnaṃ tapaścācaritaṃ mahat | pitṛpaitāmahaṃ rājyaṃ dhuryavad voḍhum arhasi ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Engkau memiliki pengetahuan Veda yang lengkap, dan engkau telah menempuh tapa yang agung. Maka engkau layak memikul—seperti seorang pemimpin yang cekap dan teguh—beban kerajaan warisan ini yang turun daripada ayahmu dan para leluhurmu.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning (Vedic knowledge) and self-discipline (tapas) qualify a person for public responsibility; one should accept and carry the inherited duty of governance as a moral obligation, not as a mere privilege.
Vyāsa addresses the addressee (a prospective ruler) and, citing his complete Vedic learning and great austerities, urges him to shoulder the burden of the ancestral kingdom like a competent, steadfast leader.