Shloka 37
न यस्य कूटं कपटं न माया न च मत्सर: | विषये भूमिपालस्य तस्य धर्म: सनातन:,जिस भूपालके राज्यमें कूटनीति, कपट, माया तथा ईर्ष्याका सर्वथा अभाव हो उसीके द्वारा सनातन धर्मका पालन होता है
na yasya kūṭaṃ kapaṭaṃ na māyā na ca matsaraḥ | viṣaye bhūmipālasya tasya dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma bersabda: Dalam negeri seorang raja yang sama sekali tiada siasat berliku, tiada tipu daya, tiada maya, dan tiada hasad dengki—di situlah sahaja dharma yang kekal (sanātana-dharma) benar-benar ditegakkan. Kerajaan demikian menjadi tanah akhlak, tempat keadilan dapat berdiri tanpa digugat oleh niat tersembunyi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that a ruler sustains eternal dharma not merely through laws or rituals, but by eliminating systemic moral vices—crooked policy, deceit, manipulative illusion, and envy—from the life of the kingdom. Where these are absent, justice and social trust naturally flourish.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (the duties of kings) after the war. This verse is part of his ethical guidance, describing the moral conditions within a king’s realm that allow dharma to be genuinely established.