Shloka 5
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
Devanagari script
यथा हि रश्मयो<श्वस्य द्विरदस्याड्कुशो यथा । नरेन्द्रधर्मो लोकस्य तथा प्रग्रहणं स्मृतम्
Transliteration
yathā hi raśmayo 'śvasya dviradasyāṅkuśo yathā | narendradharmo lokasya tathā pragrahaṇaṁ smṛtam ||
Translation
正如缰绳约束骏马、钩杖制御大象，国王之法亦被铭记为世间的缰辔——能使社会守于正当界限之内，不致奔入纷乱。
Word by Word
यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
Formavyaya (comparative/illustrative)
हिindeed/for
हि:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootहि
Formavyaya (emphatic/causal particle)
रश्मयःreins
रश्मयः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootरश्मि
Formmasculine, nominative, plural
अश्वस्यof a horse
अश्वस्य:
TypeNoun
Rootअश्व
Formmasculine, genitive, singular
द्विरदस्यof an elephant
द्विरदस्य:
TypeNoun
Rootद्विरद
Formmasculine, genitive, singular
अङ्कुशःgoad/hook
अङ्कुशः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअङ्कुश
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
Formavyaya (comparative/illustrative)
नरेन्द्रधर्मःkingly duty/royal law
नरेन्द्रधर्मः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनरेन्द्रधर्म
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
लोकस्यof the world/people
लोकस्य:
TypeNoun
Rootलोक
Formmasculine, genitive, singular
तथाso/in the same way
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
Formavyaya (correlative)
प्रग्रहणम्restraint/bridling/control
प्रग्रहणम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootप्रग्रहण
Formneuter, nominative, singular
स्मृतम्is considered/remembered (as)
स्मृतम्:
TypeVerb
Rootस्मृ
Formpast passive participle (क्त), neuter, nominative, singular
Speaker
युधिषछिर उवाच
Characters & Entities
य
युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)न
नरेन्द्र (king)अ
अश्व (horse)र
रश्मि/रश्मयः (reins)द
द्विरद (elephant)अ
अङ्कुश (elephant-goad)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Royal duty (rājadharma) functions as society’s regulating force: like reins and a goad, it restrains excess, maintains boundaries, and keeps the world aligned with order and propriety.
In Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and ethics after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about the necessity of rājadharma, using the metaphor of controlling powerful animals to explain how kingship preserves social stability.