Shloka 43
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
चातुराश्रम्यमैकाग्र्यं चातुर्वर्ण्य च पाण्डव । धर्म पुरुषशार्दूल प्राप्स्यसे पालने रत:
cāturāśramyam aikāgryaṃ cāturvarṇyaṃ ca pāṇḍava | dharmaṃ puruṣaśārdūla prāpsyase pālane rataḥ ||
Sinabi ni Bhishma: “O Pāṇḍava, tigre sa mga tao—kung mananatili kang tapat sa pagprotekta at pamamahala sa iyong mga nasasakupan, makakamtan mo ang dharmang nagtataguyod sa apat na āśrama at apat na varṇa, pati ang disiplina ng iisang-tutok na katatagan. Sa madaling sabi, ang maingat na paghahari ang daan upang mapanatili ang buong kaayusang panlipunan at espirituwal, at upang matupad ang sarili mong katuwiran.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king who is sincerely devoted to protecting and sustaining his people fulfills not only political duty but also the broader dharma that supports the four āśramas and four varṇas; good governance is presented as a spiritual-ethical discipline requiring focused steadiness (aikāgrya).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, assuring him that committed guardianship of the realm and subjects leads to the attainment of comprehensive dharma—social, moral, and inner—rather than being merely administrative work.