Shloka 4
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
यस्य सम विषये राज्ञ: स्तेनो भवति वै द्विज: । राज्ञ एवापराधं त॑ मन्यन्ते किल्बिषं नूप
yasya sama-viṣaye rājñaḥ steno bhavati vai dvijaḥ | rājña evāparādhaṃ taṃ manyante kilbiṣaṃ nṛpa nara-īśvara |
Бхишма сказал: «О царь, владыка людей: если в пределах царства правителя даже брахман становится вором, вину возлагают на царя. Мудрые считают, что это преступление и грех принадлежат самому властителю, ибо его долг — поддерживать порядок и обуздывать порок в своей державе.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler bears moral responsibility for the condition of his realm: if theft and corruption arise under his governance—even among those expected to be virtuous—the wise attribute the fault and resulting sin to the king, since maintaining justice and preventing wrongdoing are central duties of rājadharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) and explains principles of governance. Here he states that crimes occurring within a king’s own territory reflect a failure of rule, so the king is held accountable for such disorder.