ग्रामस्थाधिपति: कार्यो दशग्राम्यास्तथा पर: । द्विगुणाया: शतस्यैवं सहस्रस्य च कारयेत्,एक गाँवका, दस गाँवोंका, बीस गाँवोंका, सौ गाँवोंका तथा हजार गाँवोंका अलग- अलग एक-एक अधिपति बनाना चाहिये
grāmasthādhipatiḥ kāryo daśagrāmyās tathā paraḥ | dviguṇāyāḥ śatasyaivaṁ sahasrasya ca kārayet ||
ग्रामस्थाधिपतिः कार्यो दशग्राम्यास्तथा परः । द्विगुणायाः शतस्यैवं सहस्रस्य च कारयेत् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Effective rule depends on structured, tiered administration: appoint responsible officers over progressively larger groups of villages so duties, oversight, and accountability are clearly distributed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises the king on practical statecraft—how to organize local governance by appointing chiefs for village-level and multi-village jurisdictions.