Shloka 25
राजा-दैवतत्वम् — The King as a Stabilizing ‘Daivata’ (Divine Function) in Social Order
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--राजन्! तब समस्त प्रजाओंने मनुसे कहा--“महाराज! आप डरें मत। पाप तो उन्हींको लगेगा
bhīṣma uvāca—rājan! tataḥ samastāḥ prajā manum ūcuḥ—“mahārāja! mā bhaiṣīḥ. pāpaṁ tu teṣām eva bhaviṣyati ye tat kariṣyanti. vayaṁ tava kośasya vṛddhyartham pratyekaṁ pañcāśat-paśuṣu ekaṁ paśuṁ tubhyaṁ dāsyāmaḥ. evam eva suvarṇasyāpi pañcāśattamaṁ bhāgaṁ dāsyāmaḥ. dhānyasyotpādasya daśamaṁ bhāgaṁ kara-rūpeṇa dāsyāmaḥ. yadā ca asmākaṁ bahvyaḥ kanyā vivāhārtham udyatā bhaviṣyanti, tadā tāsāṁ yā sarva-sundarī kanyā sā śulka-rūpeṇa tubhyaṁ upahariṣyāmaḥ. mukhena śastra-patreṇa ye manuṣyāḥ pradhānataḥ, bhavantaṁ te ’nuyāsyanti mahendram iva devatāḥ.”
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，于是众民对摩奴说：‘大王，莫要畏惧。罪只落在作恶之人身上。为增益你的国库，我们每五十头牲畜献上一头；同样，黄金也将献出五十分之一。谷物收成则纳十分之一为税。待我等诸女多已及笄、将行婚嫁之时，其中最美者，我们将奉献于王，作为婚资（śulka）。此外，诸位首领之人将携其主要兵器与装备随从于王——正如诸天随从摩诃因陀罗（因陀罗）一般。’”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames kingship as a moral and economic contract: the people authorize the ruler and sustain the treasury through fixed shares (cattle, gold, grain) in exchange for protection and order, while insisting that moral blame (pāpa) belongs to the actual wrongdoers, not automatically to the king.
Bhishma recounts how the subjects address Manu, reassuring him and proposing concrete revenues—one animal per fifty, a fiftieth of gold, and a tenth of grain as tax—along with political support: leading men will follow him armed, like the gods follow Indra, thereby establishing Manu’s effective sovereignty.