Shloka 26
Chapter 78: Royal Responsibility for Wealth, Social Order, and the Protection of Dvijas
Kekaya Exemplum
नमे राष्ट्रे विधवा ब्रह्मबन्धु- न॑ ब्राह्मण: कितवो नोत चोर: । अयाज्ययाजी न च पापकर्मा न मे भयं विद्यते राक्षसेभ्य:
na me rāṣṭre vidhavā brahmabandhur na brāhmaṇaḥ kitavo nota coraḥ | ayājyayājī na ca pāpakarmā na me bhayaṁ vidyate rākṣasebhyaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“在我之国土，无寡妇之苦；无卑劣之‘婆罗门’（玷辱婆罗门之名者），无嗜赌之婆罗门，亦无盗贼。无祭司为不配之人行祭，无作恶之徒。故我对罗刹（rākṣasa）毫无惧意。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s security is grounded in dharma: when society is free from exploitation, crime, and corrupt ritual practice, the realm becomes spiritually and socially protected—so even ‘external’ threats like rākṣasas are not feared.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and social ethics, Bhishma describes the moral condition of a well-ordered kingdom—no vulnerable widows left unprotected, no criminality, and no religious corruption—and concludes that such righteousness removes fear of hostile forces.