Shloka 5
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
तैक्ष्ण्यं जिद्वात्वमादाल्भ्यं सत्यमार्जवमेव च | मध्यस्थ: सत्त्वमातिष्ठंस्तथा वै सुखमृच्छति,राजा मध्यस्थ-भावसे रहकर तीक्ष्णता, कुटिल नीति, अभय-दान, सत्य, सरलता तथा श्रेष्ठभावका अवलम्बन करे। ऐसा करनेसे ही वह सुखका भागी होता है
taikṣṇyaṁ jidvātvaṁ ādālbhyam satyam ārjavam eva ca | madhyasthaḥ sattvam ātiṣṭhaṁs tathā vai sukham ṛcchati ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Bậc vua giữ lòng vô tư phải nương nơi sự nghiêm minh sắc bén, mưu lược trị quốc thận trọng (dẫu tinh vi), ban sự vô úy (che chở), cùng chân thật và ngay thẳng. An trú trong sự quân bình ấy, người ấy ắt đạt an lạc và phúc lợi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that a ruler’s happiness and success arise from balanced kingship: impartiality combined with firmness, protective assurance to subjects, truthfulness, and straightforward integrity—so that power is exercised without bias and with moral steadiness.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma continues advising the king (in context, Yudhiṣṭhira) on the qualities and policies a ruler should adopt, emphasizing impartial governance and ethical statecraft as the basis of public welfare and royal well-being.