Shloka 1
राजवृत्त-रक्षा-प्रणिधि-षाड्गुण्योपदेशः
Royal Conduct, Protection, Intelligence, and Policy Measures
ऑपन--माजल छा जि अष्टषष्टितमो< ध्याय: वसुमना और बृहस्पतिके संवादमें राजाके न होनेसे प्रजाकी हानि और होनेसे लाभका वर्णन युधिछिर उवाच किमाहुर्देवतं विप्रा राजानं भरतर्षभ । मनुष्याणामधिपतिं तन्मे ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kim āhur devatāṁ viprā rājānaṁ bharatarṣabha | manuṣyāṇām adhipatiṁ tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai yang terbaik antara kaum Bharata, wahai Datukanda! Raja ialah penguasa manusia—mengapakah para brāhmaṇa yang berilmu menggambarkannya seakan-akan bersifat ketuhanan? Mohon jelaskan hal itu kepadaku.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a key Rajadharma inquiry: the king is not merely an administrator but a sacral moral office whose legitimacy rests on protecting people and upholding dharma—hence brāhmaṇas speak of him as ‘deity-like’ due to his dharma-bearing function.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira questions Bhīṣma about the theological and ethical basis for royal authority—specifically, why learned brāhmaṇas characterize the king, the ruler of men, as possessing a divine status.