Shloka 4
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
उपरुन्धन्ति राजानो भूतानि विजयार्थिन: । त एव विजय प्राप्य वर्धयन्ति पुनः प्रजा:
uparundhanti rājāno bhūtāni vijayārthinaḥ | te eva vijayaṁ prāpya vardhayanti punaḥ prajāḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Raja-raja yang mendambakan kemenangan menindas makhluk hidup pada waktu perang. Namun raja-raja itulah juga, setelah memperoleh kemenangan, kembali memupuk dan memajukan kesejahteraan rakyat.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to a central problem in rājadharma: rulers may inflict hardship in pursuit of victory, but after victory their legitimacy and duty require them to restore order and actively promote the prosperity of the people. Power gained through conflict must be redirected toward public welfare.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on governance and moral duty after the war. Here he observes that kings, while campaigning for conquest, oppress beings, yet once victorious they turn to strengthening and nurturing their subjects—describing the shift from wartime compulsion to peacetime responsibility.