Shloka 116
Nāradasya Rājadharma-praśnāḥ
Nārada’s Examination of Royal Ethics
कच्चित् ते पुरुषा राजन पुरे राष्ट्रे च मानिता: । उपानयन्ति पण्यानि उपधाभिरवज्चिता:,महाराज! वे व्यापारीालोग आपके नगर और राष्ट्रमें सम्मानित हो विक्रीके लिये उपयोगी सामान लाते हैं न! उन्हें तुम्हारे कर्मचारी छलसे ठगते तो नहीं?
kaccit te puruṣā rājan pure rāṣṭre ca mānitāḥ | upānayanti paṇyāni upadhābhir avañcitāḥ ||
نارَد نے کہا—اے مہاراج! کیا تمہارے شہر اور مملکت میں لوگ—خصوصاً تاجر—باعزت سمجھے جاتے ہیں؟ اور کیا وہ فروخت کے لائق سامان لاتے ہیں؟ تمہارے اہلکار کہیں فریب و دغا سے انہیں ٹھگتے تو نہیں؟
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s dharma includes protecting commerce through respect and fair treatment: merchants and subjects should be honoured and must not be cheated by state agents or through deceitful practices, since economic justice sustains social order.
Nārada addresses the king with a diagnostic question about the condition of the realm: whether people—particularly traders bringing goods to market—are respected in the city and kingdom and whether they are free from deception and exploitation.