Shloka 69
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
त्रिवर्गश्षापि यः प्रोक्तस्तमिहैकमना: शृणु । क्षय: स्थान च वृद्धिश्न त्रिवर्गः परमस्तथा,इति श्रीमहा भारते शान्तिपर्वणि राजधर्मानुशासनपर्वणि एकोनसप्ततितमो<ध्याय:
Bhīṣma uvāca | trivargaś cāpi yaḥ proktas tam ihaikamanāḥ śṛṇu | kṣayaḥ sthānaṃ ca vṛddhiś ca trivargaḥ paramas tathā |
भीष्म उवाच—त्रिवर्गोऽपि यः प्रोक्तस्तमिहैकमनाḥ शृणु। क्षयः स्थानं च वृद्धिश्च त्रिवर्गः परमः स्मृतः।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma defines a supreme threefold framework for assessing conduct and policy: actions lead to decline (kṣaya), preserve stability (sthāna), or produce growth (vṛddhi). Ethical and royal decisions should be evaluated by which of these outcomes they rightly bring about.
In the Rajadharma instruction section of Shanti Parva, Bhishma continues advising the listener (Yudhiṣṭhira in the broader context) and introduces a key analytical triad—decline, stability, and increase—as a guiding lens for governance and duty.