Shloka 5
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
तैक्ष्ण्यं जिद्वात्वमादाल्भ्यं सत्यमार्जवमेव च | मध्यस्थ: सत्त्वमातिष्ठंस्तथा वै सुखमृच्छति
taikṣṇyaṁ jidvātvaṁ ādālbhyam satyam ārjavam eva ca | madhyasthaḥ sattvam ātiṣṭhaṁs tathā vai sukham ṛcchati ||
毗湿摩说道：“君王若能持守公正无私，当具锋利的刚断、谨慎（纵使微妙）的治国权谋、赐予无畏之护佑、真实与坦直。安住于这般中和的德行，他便确能得安乐与福祉。”
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.