Shloka 25
Kṣātra-dharma as the Public Foundation of Dharma (क्षात्रधर्म-प्रशंसा)
यथा राजन हस्तिपदे पदानि संलीयन्ते सर्वसत्त्वोदूभवानि । एवं धर्मान् राजधर्मेषु सर्वान् सर्वावस्थान् सम्प्रलीनान् निबोध
yathā rājan hastipade padāni saṃlīyante sarvasattvodbhavāni | evaṃ dharmān rājadharmeṣu sarvān sarvāvasthān sampralīnān nibodha, nareśvara ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王，正如万物的足迹都汇聚并湮没于象足之印中，同样，噢，人中之主，当知一切法，在人生的任何境况之下，皆摄入王法（rājadharma）之中。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that rājadharma—the king’s duty to protect, punish justly, and uphold order—is overarching: it gathers and coordinates all other dharmas, because the stability of society enables every other duty (personal, familial, ascetic, ritual) to be practiced.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on governance after the war. Here he uses the elephant-footprint simile to emphasize the centrality of royal duty in sustaining the wider moral and social framework.