Shloka 19
Kośārtha-Rājadharma: Ethical Revenue Collection and Social Regulation (कोशार्थ-राजधर्मः)
भोक्ता तस्य तु पापस्थ सुकृतस्य यथा तथा । नियन्तव्या: सदा राज्ञा पापा ये स्युर्नराधिप,नरेश्वर! राजा जैसे प्रजाके पापका चतुर्थाश भोगता है उसी प्रकार पुण्यका भी चतुर्थाश उसे प्राप्त होता है; अत: राजाको चाहिये कि वह सदा पापियोंको दण्ड देकर उन्हें दबाये रखे
bhoktā tasya tu pāpastha sukṛtasya yathā tathā | niyantavyāḥ sadā rājñā pāpā ye syur narādhipa || nareśvara |
Bhishma said: “O king, just as a ruler becomes a sharer in a portion of the sins committed within his realm, so too does he obtain a corresponding portion of the merit earned there. Therefore, O lord of men, the king must always restrain and punish those who turn to wrongdoing, keeping them under control—for the moral burden of the kingdom inevitably touches the throne.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king is morally implicated in the conduct of his realm: he shares in a portion of both sin and merit generated under his rule. Therefore, he must actively restrain and punish wrongdoing to protect dharma and to avoid accruing the kingdom’s moral fault.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma is advising the king on governance after the war. Here he emphasizes the ruler’s responsibility to maintain order and righteousness, warning that the king partakes in the karmic consequences of his subjects’ actions.