Shloka 10
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
कृतंत्रेतां द्वापरं च कलिश्न भरतर्षभ । राजमूला इति मतिर्मम नास्त्यत्र संशय:,भरतश्रेष्ठ! सत्ययुग, त्रेता, द्वापर और कलियुग--इन सबका मूल कारण राजा ही है, ऐसा मेरा विचार है। इसकी सत्यतामें मुझे तनिक भी संदेह नहीं है
kṛtaṃ tretāṃ dvāparaṃ ca kaliṃ ca bharatarṣabha | rājamūlā iti matir mama nāsty atra saṃśayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi bậc trụ cột của dòng Bharata, các thời đại—Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara và Kali—đều lấy nhà vua làm gốc. Đó là niềm xác tín đã định của ta; về điều này ta không hề nghi ngờ.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The moral quality of an age is not merely cosmic fate; it is decisively shaped by the ruler. A king’s conduct, justice, and protection of dharma become the ‘root’ that makes society resemble Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, or Kali.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and emphasizes the king’s central responsibility: the condition of the realm—and even the character of the age experienced by people—depends on the ruler’s policies and virtue.