Shloka 6
राजधर्मः—प्रजापालनं दानयज्ञश्च
Royal Duty—Protection of Subjects, Generosity, and Sacrificial Discipline
य॑ हि धर्म चरन्तीह प्रजा राज्ञा सुरक्षिता: । चतुर्थ तस्य धर्मस्य राजा भारत विन्दति,भारत! राजाद्वारा सुरक्षित हुई प्रजा यहाँ जिस धर्मका आचरण करती है, उसका चौथा भाग राजाको भी मिल जाता है
ya hi dharmaṁ carantīha prajā rājñā surakṣitāḥ | caturthaṁ tasya dharmasya rājā bhārata vindati ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Wahai Bhārata, apabila rakyat di dunia ini mengamalkan dharma dalam keadaan terlindung dengan baik oleh raja mereka, maka raja itu memperoleh seperempat bahagian daripada pahala dharma tersebut.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king who genuinely protects his subjects shares in the moral merit they generate through righteous living; political responsibility and public virtue are ethically interconnected.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue on statecraft and ethics, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira about rājadharma, explaining that a ruler’s protective governance entitles him to a portion of the people’s dharmic merit.