Shloka 28
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
तस्मात् तीक्षण: प्रजा राजा स्वधर्मे स्थापयेत् ततः । अन्योन्यं भक्षयन्तो हि प्रचरेयुर्वका इव
tasmāt tīkṣṇaḥ prajā rājā svadharme sthāpayet tataḥ | anyonyaṁ bhakṣayanto hi pracareyur vakā iva ||
Потому царь твёрдый и строгий должен утвердить людей в их собственных обязанностях (svadharma). Иначе народ, пожирая друг друга, станет бродить без удержу, как волки,—охотясь один на другого при крушении порядка.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that effective kingship requires firm enforcement of dharma: a ruler must keep people established in their proper duties; without such restraint, society collapses into mutual predation and lawlessness.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira about governance, warning that if a king is not stern in upholding order, the subjects will harm one another and wander unchecked like wolves.