Shloka 383
Draupadī’s Exhortation on Rājadharma and Daṇḍa (द्रौपद्याः राजधर्मोपदेशः)
सपर्वतवनद्दीपां मा राजन् विमना भव | नरेश्वर! धर्मपूर्वक प्रजाका पालन करते हुए पर्वत, वन और द्वीपोंसहित पृथ्वी देवीका शासन कीजिये। इस उदासीन न होइये
sa-parvata-vana-dvīpāṃ mā rājan vimanā bhava | nareśvara dharma-pūrvakaṃ prajāḥ pālayan parvata-vana-dvīpa-sahitāṃ pṛthivīṃ devīṃ śāsaya; anudāsīno mā bhūḥ ||
सपर्वतवनद्वीपां मा राजन् विमना भव । नरेश्वर! धर्मेण प्रजाः पालयन् पृथिवीं शास हि ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must not succumb to despair or indifference; he should uphold rajadharma by protecting the people and governing the earth righteously, treating rule as a moral responsibility rather than a personal burden.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Vaiśampāyana narrates counsel addressed to the king, urging him to resume active, dharma-based governance—protecting subjects and administering the realm (symbolized as Earth with her natural domains).