Shloka 13
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
भीष्म उवाच नियततस्त्वं नरव्याप्र शृणु सर्वमशेषत: । यथा राज्यं समुत्पन्नममादौ कृतयुगे5भवत्
bhīṣma uvāca niyatatastvaṃ naravyāghra śṛṇu sarvamaśeṣataḥ | yathā rājyaṃ samutpannam ādau kṛtayuge 'bhavat ||
毗湿摩说道：“人中之虎啊，你当以坚定之心，悉听无遗。我将叙述王权与治国之道在最初如何兴起——在克利多纪元（真理纪，Satya Yuga）之始。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-centered inquiry into political authority: Bhīṣma prepares to explain that kingship and the state are not merely instruments of power but institutions with an origin-story tied to moral order and the maintenance of dharma, beginning from the idealized Kṛta Yuga.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and asks him to listen attentively. He introduces a forthcoming account describing how rājya (sovereignty and governance) first came into being in the earliest age (Kṛta/Satya Yuga).