Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 49
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तस्य राज्ञ: परो धर्मो दम: स्वाध्याय एव च | अग्निहोत्रपरिस्पन्दो दानाध्ययनमेव च
tasya rājñaḥ paro dharmo damaḥ svādhyāya eva ca | agnihotra-parispando dānādhyayanam eva ca ||
Para sa haring iyon, ang pinakamataas na dharma ay ang pagpipigil-sa-sarili (dama) at ang palagiang pag-aaral ng banal na aral; gayundin ang masigasig na pagsasagawa ng Agnihotra, kasama ang pagbibigay-limos at pag-aaral. Sa ganitong paraan, inilalarawan ni Maheshvara ang katuwiran ng hari hindi bilang hubad na kapangyarihan, kundi bilang disiplinadong asal na pinananatili ng gawang-Veda, pagkatuto, at pagkakawanggawa.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s supreme dharma is inner discipline (dama) supported by sacred learning (svādhyāya/adhyayana), sustained ritual responsibility (Agnihotra), and outward generosity (dāna). Kingship is validated by restraint, learning, and beneficence rather than force alone.
Śrīmaheśvara is instructing about the standards of righteous conduct for a king, listing the principal practices that uphold royal dharma: self-control, scriptural study, faithful performance of the Agnihotra rite, and charity.