Shloka 10

Kāpavya-carita (कापव्यचरित) — Reforming Dasyus through Regulated Rāja-Dharma

Devanagari script

एतत्‌ प्रमाणं लोकस्य चक्षुरेतत्‌ सनातनम्‌ | तत्‌ प्रमाणो&वगाहेत तेन तत्‌ साध्वसाधु वा

Transliteration

etad pramāṇaṁ lokasya cakṣur etat sanātanam | tat pramāṇo ’vagāheta tena tat sādhv asādhu vā ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“此乃世间之准绳，此乃其永恒之眼。愿国王以此为权威，步入施政行事之域；并以此一尺度，于危急之时裁断一事当判为善或恶。”

Word by Word

• {'etat': 'this (teaching/principle just stated)', 'pramāṇam': 'authoritative standard

• valid means of judgment', 'lokasya': 'of the world

• of people in general', 'cakṣuḥ': 'eye

• that which gives discernment/vision', 'sanātanam': 'eternal

• perennial', 'tat': 'that

• it (the same principle)', 'pramāṇaḥ (pramāṇam)': 'as the authority/criterion', 'avagāheta': 'should enter into

• should proceed (into action)', 'tena': 'by that

• according to that', 'sādhu': 'good

• righteous', 'asādhu': 'bad

• unrighteous', 'vā': 'or'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājā (the king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler must ground action in a reliable standard of judgment (pramāṇa). That guiding principle is described as the world’s “eternal eye,” meaning the enduring faculty of moral discernment by which good and bad are evaluated—especially when circumstances are difficult.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising the king (in context, Yudhiṣṭhira) on how to act in the practical arena of rule. He emphasizes that the king should adopt the stated principle as his authoritative criterion and use it to decide proper or improper conduct, particularly in emergencies.