Shloka 31
उतथ्योपदेशः—राजधर्मः, दर्पनिग्रहः, प्रजारक्षणम्
Utathya’s Instruction: Royal Dharma, Restraint of Pride, Protection of Subjects
निगृहीतादमात्याच्च स्त्रीभ्यश्नैव विशेषतः । पर्वताद् विषमाद् दुर्गाद्धस्तिनो 5श्वात् सरीसूपात्,इसी तरह जिसको एक बार कैद किया हो, उस मन्त्रीसे, विशेषतः परायी स्त्रियोंसे, ऊँचे-नीचे और दुर्गम पर्वतसे तथा हाथी, घोड़े और सर्पेंसे राजाको बचकर रहना चाहिये। इनकी ओरसे सदा सावधान रहे और रातमें घूमना-फिरना छोड़ दे। कृपणता, अभिमान, दम्भ और क्रोधका भी सर्वथा परित्याग कर दे
nigṛhītād amātyāc ca strībhyaś caiva viśeṣataḥ | parvatād viṣamād durgād hastino 'śvāt sarīsṛpāt ||
Utathya said: “A king should keep himself safe from a minister who has once been arrested, and especially from other men’s women. He should also guard himself against perilous mountains and difficult strongholds, and against dangers from elephants, horses, and creeping reptiles (such as snakes). Therefore he should remain constantly vigilant, avoid roaming about at night, and wholly abandon miserliness, pride, hypocrisy, and anger.”
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches rājadharma as practical vigilance and moral discipline: a ruler must avoid predictable sources of danger (political enemies, illicit entanglements, hazardous terrain, and powerful animals) and must also renounce inner vices—miserliness, pride, hypocrisy, and anger—that undermine sound judgment and stable rule.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship, the sage Utathya addresses guidance for a king’s conduct. He lists concrete external threats and then adds an ethical injunction to abandon destructive character traits, framing governance as both security-awareness and self-mastery.