Shloka 2

Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)

Devanagari script

कथं चारं प्रयुड्जीत वर्णान्‌ विश्वासयेत्‌ कथम्‌ | कथें भृत्यान्‌ कथं दारान्‌ कथे पुत्रांक्ष भारत

Transliteration

kathaṃ cāraṃ prayuñjīta varṇān viśvāsayet katham | kathaṃ bhṛtyān kathaṃ dārān kathe putrān kṣa bhārata ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira thưa: “Một vị vua phải dùng gián điệp thế nào? Làm sao gây dựng lòng tin trong các giai tầng xã hội? Và, hỡi Bhārata, nhà vua phải giao việc cho bề tôi, cho các hoàng hậu và cho các hoàng tử ra sao—và làm thế nào để giành được sự tín nhiệm của họ nữa?”

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• चारम्: spy-system / espionage
• चारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रयुञ्जीत: should employ / should deploy
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-युज्
• Form: Vidhi-linga, Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वर्णान्: the social classes (varnas)
• वर्णान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• विश्वासयेत्: should cause to trust / should win confidence
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-श्वस् (causative: विश्वासय)
• Form: Vidhi-linga, Optative, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• भृत्यान्: servants / dependents
• भृत्यान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• दारान्: wives
• दारान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• पुत्रान्: sons
• पुत्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhārata (form of address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a central problem of rājadharma: effective rule requires both intelligence-gathering (cāra) and the ethical cultivation of trust—across society (varṇas) and within the ruler’s own household and administration (servants, wives, sons).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Yudhiṣṭhira asks for guidance on practical governance: how to appoint and use spies, and how to secure the confidence and cooperation of different social groups and close dependents within the royal sphere.