Shloka 79
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
कालो वा कारणं राज्ञो राजा वा कालकारणम् | इति ते संशयो मा भूद् राजा कालस्य कारणम्,काल राजाका कारण है अथवा राजा कालका, ऐसा संशय तुम्हें नहीं होना चाहिये। यह निश्चित है कि राजा ही कालका कारण होता है
kālo vā kāraṇaṁ rājño rājā vā kāla-kāraṇam | iti te saṁśayo mā bhūd rājā kālasya kāraṇam ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Thời gian là nguyên nhân của vua, hay vua là nguyên nhân của cái gọi là Thời gian—con chớ nghi ngờ điều ấy. Trong việc trị nước và vận mệnh của muôn dân, chính nhà vua, bằng tác động của mình, trở thành ‘Thời gian’ quyết định đem lại kết quả.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes moral and practical agency in rulership: do not hide behind ‘Time’ or fate. In the sphere of polity, the king’s decisions and conduct function as the decisive cause that shapes outcomes—what people later call ‘Time’ is often the ruler’s agency made visible.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma addresses the listener’s doubt about whether events are driven by impersonal Time or by the ruler. He resolves it by asserting the primacy of royal responsibility: the king is the effective cause behind the unfolding of public fortune and misfortune.