Shloka 160
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यश्न राजा महोत्साह: क्षत्रधर्मे रतो भवेत् | स तुष्येद् दशभागेन ततस्त्वन्यो दशावरै:
yaśn rājā mahotsāhaḥ kṣatradharme rato bhavet | sa tuṣyed daśabhāgena tatas tv anyo daśāvaraiḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang haring may dakilang sigasig at tapat sa kṣatriya-dharma ay dapat masiyahan sa pagkuha ng ikasampung bahagi ng kita ng bayan bilang buwis. Ang ibang karaniwang pinuno—di tulad ng gayong dakilang hari—ay dapat masiyahan kahit mas mababa pa sa ikasampu. Ang aral ay pagpipigil sa pagbubuwis: ang kapangyarihang panghari ay may katwiran lamang kung ito’y nagtatanggol at nagtataguyod ng dharma, kaya hindi dapat pahirapan ang nasasakupan nang lampas sa sukat.”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must practice restraint in taxation: even a capable, dharma-abiding king should be content with a tenth share, and lesser rulers should take still less. Legitimate kingship is tied to protection and dharma, not extraction.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on proper governance, specifically setting a moral limit on how much revenue a king should take from his subjects.