Shloka 160
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यश्न राजा महोत्साह: क्षत्रधर्मे रतो भवेत् | स तुष्येद् दशभागेन ततस्त्वन्यो दशावरै:
yaśn rājā mahotsāhaḥ kṣatradharme rato bhavet | sa tuṣyed daśabhāgena tatas tv anyo daśāvaraiḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“精力充沛、奉行刹帝利之法的国王，应当满足于以税取民之收入十分之一。至于别的寻常君主——不同于此等大王——即便少于十分之一也当知足。其义在于节制赋税：王权唯在护持正法（dharma）时方为正当，故不可使百姓负担过度。”
भीष्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must practice restraint in taxation: even a capable, dharma-abiding king should be content with a tenth share, and lesser rulers should take still less. Legitimate kingship is tied to protection and dharma, not extraction.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on proper governance, specifically setting a moral limit on how much revenue a king should take from his subjects.