Shloka 19

राजा-दैवतत्वम् — The King as a Stabilizing ‘Daivata’ (Divine Function) in Social Order

Devanagari script

यः परस्वमथादद्यात्‌ त्याज्या नस्तादृशा इति । विश्वासार्थ च सर्वेषां वर्णानामविशेषत: । तास्तथा समयं कृत्वा समयेनावतस्थिरे

Transliteration

yaḥ parasvam athādadyāt tyājyā nas tādṛśā iti | viśvāsārthaṃ ca sarveṣāṃ varṇānām aviśeṣataḥ | tās tathā samayaṃ kṛtvā samayenāvatasthire

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—“جو دوسرے کا مال لے، وہ ہمارے درمیان رکھنے کے لائق نہیں؛ ایسے شخص کو نکال دینا چاہیے۔” اور تمام طبقات میں بلا امتیاز اعتماد قائم کرنے کے لیے انہوں نے یہ عہد باندھا؛ عہد باندھ کر وہ اسی پر ثابت قدم رہے۔

Word by Word

यःwho (he who)

परस्वम्another's property

अथand/then

आदद्यात्should take/steal

त्याज्याःto be abandoned/expelled

नःof us/our

तादृशाःsuch (persons)

इतिthus/so (quotative)

विश्वासार्थम्for the sake of trust

चand

सर्वेषाम्of all

वर्णानाम्of the classes/varṇas

अविशेषतःwithout distinction, impartially

ताःthey (those)

तथाthus/accordingly

समयम्agreement/compact

कृत्वाhaving made

समयेनby/with the agreement

अवतस्थिरेthey stood firm/abided

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

varṇas (social orders)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Stealing or appropriating another’s property is a grave breach of dharma warranting social rejection, and stable society depends on impartial, shared rules that build trust across all varṇas.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a community norm: they declare that anyone who takes another’s property is to be expelled, and they formalize this as a common agreement binding on everyone, which they then faithfully uphold.