Mahabharata 9.44.48 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 44, Shloka 48
कार्त्तिकेयाभिषेकः — Consecration of Kārttikeya and the Enumeration of His Retinue
पूर्वमेवादिदेशासौ निकायेषु महात्मनाम् । समर्थ च तमैश्व॒र्ये महामतिरमन्यत
pūrvam evādideśāsau nikāyeṣu mahātmanām | samarthaṃ ca tam aiśvarye mahāmatir amanyata ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—स पूर्वमेव महात्मनां निकायेषु स्वाज्ञां न्यधात्; स च महामतिः तमैश्वर्ये समर्थमिति मन्यत।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Authority (aiśvarya) should be entrusted on the basis of proven capability and prior disciplined organization; wise leadership is shown by recognizing fitness for responsibility rather than relying on mere status or force.
The narrator states that orders had already been issued across the troop-divisions of the eminent warriors, and that a discerning leader regarded a particular person as competent to assume or exercise sovereign command.
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