Shloka 29
Kṣātra-dharma as the Public Foundation of Dharma (क्षात्रधर्म-प्रशंसा)
सर्वे त्यागा राजधर्मेषु दृष्टा: सर्वा दीक्षा राजधर्मेषु चोक्ता: । सर्वा विद्या राजधर्मेषु युक्ता: सर्वे लोका राजधर्मे प्रविष्टा:
bhīṣma uvāca | sarve tyāgā rājadharmeṣu dṛṣṭāḥ sarvā dīkṣā rājadharmeṣu coktaḥ | sarvā vidyā rājadharmeṣu yuktāḥ sarve lokā rājadharme praviṣṭāḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Dalam kewajipan raja terlihat segala bentuk pelepasan; dalam dharma diraja juga diajarkan setiap disiplin dan upacara inisiasi (dīkṣā). Semua cabang ilmu menemukan penerapan yang wajar dalam rājadharma, dan semua alam—setiap ruang kehidupan—terhimpun serta terkandung di dalamnya.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that rājadharma is not a narrow political code but a comprehensive ethical discipline: it demands sacrifice (tyāga), includes rigorous training and vows (dīkṣā), requires the application of all knowledge (vidyā), and bears responsibility for the welfare of all spheres of life (lokāḥ).
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira after the war, explaining the foundations of righteous rule. Here he emphasizes the breadth of royal duty—how governance integrates renunciation, disciplined conduct, learning, and responsibility for the entire social and cosmic order.