Shloka 24
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
अद्भयोउन्नि््रह्यृत: क्षत्रमश्मनो लोहमुत्थितम् । तेषां सर्वत्रगं तेज: स्वासु योनिषु शाम्यति
adbhyo 'nniḥṛtaḥ kṣatram aśmano loham utthitam | teṣāṁ sarvatragaṁ tejaḥ svāsu yoniṣu śāmyati ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Mula sa tubig hinuhugot ang kapangyarihang panghari—ang simulain ng Kshatriya sa pamamahala at lakas; mula sa bato nalilikha ang bakal. Ngunit ang siglang wari’y lumalaganap sa lahat ng dako ay sa huli’y humuhupa at nauubos sa sarili nitong pinagmulan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power (kṣatra/tejas) is not absolute; it arises from specific causes and conditions and ultimately returns to, or is limited by, its own source. Therefore, rulers should practice restraint and humility, recognizing the dependence and finitude of their strength.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs on dharma and governance using natural analogies: just as iron comes from stone and something is drawn from water, so too worldly power emerges from underlying sources and then subsides back into its proper ground.