Shloka 11
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
शृणु कार्त्स्न्येन मत्तस्त्वं राजधर्मान् युधिष्ठिर । निरुच्यमानान् नियतो यच्चान्यदपि वाउ्छसि,युधिष्ठिर! अब तुम नियमपूर्वक एकाग्र हो मुझसे सम्पूर्णरूपसे राजधर्मोंका वर्णन सुनो, तथा और भी जो कुछ सुनना चाहते हो, उसका श्रवण करो
śṛṇu kārtsnyena mattas tvaṁ rājadharmān yudhiṣṭhira | nirucyamānān niyato yac cānyad api vāñchasi ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Yudhiṣṭhira, dengarlah daripadaku dengan sepenuh perhatian ketika aku menghuraikan—secara menyeluruh—dharma pemerintahan raja. Berdisiplinlah dan tumpukan fikiran; dan apa jua lagi yang engkau ingin dengar, dengarlah itu juga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the ethical method of learning rājadharma: the student must be disciplined and attentive, and the teacher will expound the principles of righteous rule in a complete, systematic way, also accommodating further questions.
In Śānti Parva, after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks guidance on righteous rule. Bhīṣma, lying on his bed of arrows, begins (and continues) a sustained instruction on royal duties, urging Yudhiṣṭhira to listen carefully to the full exposition.