Shloka 5

राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)

Devanagari script

यथा हि रश्मयो<श्वस्य द्विरदस्याड्कुशो यथा । नरेन्द्रधर्मो लोकस्य तथा प्रग्रहणं स्मृतम्‌

Transliteration

yathā hi raśmayo 'śvasya dviradasyāṅkuśo yathā | narendradharmo lokasya tathā pragrahaṇaṁ smṛtam ||

Translation

Như dây cương kìm giữ ngựa và móc thúc điều khiển voi, cũng vậy, rāja-dharma được ghi nhớ như chiếc cương của thế gian—có thể giữ xã hội trong khuôn phép và ngăn nó lao vào loạn lạc.

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा
• Form: avyaya (comparative/illustrative)

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि
• Form: avyaya (emphatic/causal particle)

• रश्मयः: reins
• रश्मयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रश्मि
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• अश्वस्य: of a horse
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• द्विरदस्य: of an elephant
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विरद
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• अङ्कुशः: goad/hook
• अङ्कुशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्कुश
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा
• Form: avyaya (comparative/illustrative)

• नरेन्द्रधर्मः: kingly duty/royal law
• नरेन्द्रधर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेन्द्रधर्म
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• लोकस्य: of the world/people
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• तथा: so/in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: avyaya (correlative)

• प्रग्रहणम्: restraint/bridling/control
• प्रग्रहणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रग्रहण
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• स्मृतम्: is considered/remembered (as)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्मृ
• Form: past passive participle (क्त), neuter, nominative, singular

Speaker

युधिषछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• नरेन्द्र (king)
• अश्व (horse)
• रश्मि/रश्मयः (reins)
• द्विरद (elephant)
• अङ्कुश (elephant-goad)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Royal duty (rājadharma) functions as society’s regulating force: like reins and a goad, it restrains excess, maintains boundaries, and keeps the world aligned with order and propriety.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and ethics after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about the necessity of rājadharma, using the metaphor of controlling powerful animals to explain how kingship preserves social stability.