Shloka 19
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
बलवानोंके बलात्कार (अत्याचार) से पीड़ित हो अत्यन्त दीनभावसे पुकार मचाते हुए अनाथ मनुष्योंको आश्रय देनेवाला उनका संरक्षक या स्वामी राजा ही होता है ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | tataḥ sākṣibalaṃ sādhu dvedhāvādakṛtaṃ bhavet | asākṣikam anāthaṃ vā parīkṣyaṃ tad viśeṣataḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“当争讼呈上，两方各执一词、互相矛盾时，证人之证言之力被正当地视为求真之上策——故当寻访并审问亲见其事者。然若无证人，或申诉者孤弱无援、无护持亦无代言，则国王当亲自加以特别而谨慎的查验。如此，统治者便成为无依者之归依，尤为强暴者所压迫之人之庇护。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king must uphold justice by relying on credible witness-testimony when parties give conflicting accounts; and when witnesses or protectors are absent—especially for the helpless—the king must personally investigate with special care, acting as the refuge of the oppressed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on judicial conduct: how to decide cases with contradictory claims, the priority of eyewitness testimony, and the ruler’s heightened responsibility when the complainant is unprotected.