Shloka 32

दुर्ग-निवेश-राजधर्मः | Fortified Capital and the King’s Residential Polity

Rājadharma

Devanagari script

ते कस्याज्चिदवस्थायां शरणं शरणार्थिने । राज्ञे दद्युर्यथाकामं तापसा: संशितव्रता:,वे उत्तम व्रतका पालन करनेवाले तपस्वी शरणार्थी राजाको किसी भी अवस्थामें इच्छानुसार शरण दे सकते हैं

Transliteration

te kasyācid avasthāyāṃ śaraṇaṃ śaraṇārthine | rājñe dadyur yathākāmaṃ tāpasāḥ saṃśitavratāḥ ||

Translation

உறுதியான விரதங்களைப் பின்பற்றும் அந்தத் தபஸ்விகள், அடைக்கலம் நாடி வரும் அரசனுக்கு எந்த நிலையிலும், தங்கள் தீர்மானத்தின்படி, விரும்பினால் அடைக்கலம் அளிக்கக் கூடியவர்கள்।

Word by Word

तेthey

कस्यचित्of some (any)

अवस्थायाम्in (any) condition/state

शरणम्refuge, protection

शरणार्थिनेto one seeking refuge

राज्ञेto the king

दद्युःwould give / may grant

यथाas, according to

कामम्desire, wish

तापसाःascetics

संशितव्रताःof well-sharpened/strict vows

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

king (rājā)

ascetics (tāpasāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That granting refuge (śaraṇa) to a seeker is a powerful dharmic obligation; disciplined ascetics, guided by strict vows and moral clarity, may extend protection even to a king, regardless of circumstances, when refuge is sincerely sought.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma is instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva, stating a principle about asylum/protection: ascetics of firm vows can choose to shelter a king who comes seeking refuge, emphasizing the moral authority of tapas and the sanctity of supplication.