Shloka 13
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
भीष्म उवाच नियततस्त्वं नरव्याप्र शृणु सर्वमशेषत: । यथा राज्यं समुत्पन्नममादौ कृतयुगे5भवत्,भीष्मजीने कहा--पुरुषसिंह! आदि सत्ययुगमें जिस प्रकार राजा और राज्यकी उत्पत्ति हुई, वह सारा वृत्तान्त तुम एकाग्र होकर सुनो
bhīṣma uvāca niyatatastvaṃ naravyāghra śṛṇu sarvamaśeṣataḥ | yathā rājyaṃ samutpannam ādau kṛtayuge 'bhavat ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai harimau di antara manusia, dengarlah dengan perhatian yang teguh akan segala-galanya tanpa tertinggal. Aku akan menceritakan bagaimana kerajaan dan tata pemerintahan mula-mula muncul pada permulaan zaman, dalam Yuga Kṛta (Satya Yuga).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-centered inquiry into political authority: Bhīṣma prepares to explain that kingship and the state are not merely instruments of power but institutions with an origin-story tied to moral order and the maintenance of dharma, beginning from the idealized Kṛta Yuga.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and asks him to listen attentively. He introduces a forthcoming account describing how rājya (sovereignty and governance) first came into being in the earliest age (Kṛta/Satya Yuga).