Shloka 43
अध्याय २९ — वासुदेव–संजय संवादः
Karma, Varṇa-Dharma, and the Ethics of Governance
सन्त्येव मे ब्राह्मणेभ्य: कृतानि भावीन्यथो नो बत वर्तयन्ति । तान् पश्यामि युक्तरूपांस्तथैव तामेव सिद्धि श्रावयेथा नृपं तम्
santy eva me brāhmaṇebhyaḥ kṛtāni bhāvīny atho no bata vartayanti | tān paśyāmi yukta-rūpāṁs tathaiva tām eva siddhiṁ śrāvayethā nṛpaṁ tam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Sesungguhnya aku telah menetapkan sara hidup tahunan yang berterusan bagi beberapa brāhmaṇa; namun, sayang sekali, ia tidak dilaksanakan dengan sewajarnya. Aku ingin melihat para brāhmaṇa itu kembali dipelihara seperti dahulu, dengan cara yang patut. Maka, maklumkanlah kepada raja itu—melalui seorang utusan—bahawa pemberian itu kini dipelihara tepat sebagaimana seharusnya.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes ensuring that promised support and charitable endowments are actually implemented. Ethical governance is not only making grants but also supervising their faithful execution, especially when the welfare of dependents (here, brāhmaṇas) is involved.
Yudhiṣṭhira refers to recurring provisions he had established for certain brāhmaṇas. He laments that the arrangement is not being properly maintained and instructs that the concerned king be informed—via a messenger—that the provisions should be restored and duly carried out.