Shloka 1
राजा-दैवतत्वम् — The King as a Stabilizing ‘Daivata’ (Divine Function) in Social Order
अपन कराता बछ। अंक सप्तषष्टितमो< ध्याय: राष्ट्रकी रक्षा और उन्नतिके लिये राजाकी आवश्यकताका प्रतिपादन युधिष्ठिर उवाच चातुराश्रम्यमुक्तं ते चातुर्वर्ण्य तथैव च । राष्ट्रस्य यत् कृत्यतमं ततो ब्रूहि पितामह
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | cāturāśramyam uktaṁ te cāturvarṇyaṁ tathaiva ca | rāṣṭrasya yat kṛtyatamaṁ tato brūhi pitāmaha ||
由提湿提罗说道：“祖父（毗湿摩）啊，你已向我阐明四种阿湿罗摩（āśrama）与四种瓦尔那（varṇa）的职责。如今请告诉我，噢，皮塔摩诃：一国之中最首要的义务是什么——为了整个国土与其中一切居民的福祉，最不可或缺的要务究竟是什么？”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
After hearing the frameworks of āśrama- and varṇa-dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks the single most crucial duty of the state—implying that social and personal duties require a stable, protected realm and that governance has a paramount ethical responsibility toward the common good.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue on dharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Pitāmaha’ and, having received instruction on the four āśramas and four varṇas, asks him to state what is the highest and most necessary task of the kingdom as a whole.