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Yudhishthira said:
O grandsire, tell me how the king, while protecting his subjects, becomes bound by obligation and how he does not transgress dharma.
Bhīṣma said:
O dear one, I will explain to you the established dharmas in summary only; for, in detail, the end of dharmas could never be reached.
You should welcome into your home virtuous Brahmins who are steadfast in dharma, learned in the Vedas, devoted to Vedic vows, and honored.
After rising, approaching and respectfully saluting the feet, you should then perform all your duties together with the priest.
After performing acts of dharma and auspicious rites, you should have the Brāhmaṇas recite blessings for your success and victory.
O Bhārata, one should pursue wealth with honesty, fortitude, and intellect, and should avoid desire and anger.
A foolish king who acts with desire and anger at the forefront attains neither righteousness nor even his purpose.
Do not assign the greedy and the foolish to tasks involving desires and wealth; instead, employ those who are not greedy and who possess intelligence in all kinds of work.
A foolish person, when appointed to responsibilities and lacking skill in actions, afflicts the people through incompetence, being driven by desire and hatred.
You should seek to obtain income through the sixth part of produce, taxes, penalties, or from offenders, and by scriptural policy and wages.
The king, having always caused the righteous tax to be paid in the kingdom according to rule, should diligently provide for all prosperity and security without negligence.
Humans become devoted to one who is a protector, a giver, always righteous, untiring, and free from desire and hatred.
Do not ever seek to acquire wealth through unrighteous means; for one who follows ways contrary to the scriptures, both righteousness and wealth are unstable.
A king who follows unorthodox teachings gains nothing from accumulation; and all his wealth, if placed improperly, is entirely lost.
He, whose foundation is wealth and who professes non-injury, himself, out of delusion, imposes taxes not sanctioned by śāstra, thereby oppressing his subjects.
If someone were to cut the udder of cows, a person seeking milk would not get any. In the same way, a kingdom afflicted by mismanagement does not prosper.
He who tends the milch cow always obtains milk; likewise, one who enjoys the kingdom by proper means obtains its rewards.
O Yudhiṣṭhira, when a kingdom is governed with strategy and kept secure, it always produces an unsurpassed growth of wealth.
O queen, when the subjects are well-protected, the land yields grain and gold; just as a mother, always satisfied, gives milk to her own and to others.
O king, be like a garland-maker and a gardener. In this way, by being diligent, you will be able to rule and enjoy your kingdom for a long time while protecting it.
If, by campaigning against the enemy, you suffer loss of wealth, then you should seek to recover wealth from non-Brahmins by conciliation alone.
O Bhārata, do not let your mind be disturbed upon seeing a wealthy brāhmaṇa. If this is so even in a lowly state, how much more so in a prosperous one.
You should give wealth to them according to your ability and their worthiness; by soothing and protecting them, you will attain the heaven that is difficult to conquer.
O joy of the Kurus, by protecting your subjects in this way, with righteous conduct, you will attain your own merit and enduring fame.
O Pāṇḍava, govern your subjects with righteousness and proper conduct. Yudhiṣṭhira, if you act in this way, you will rule without being bound by attachment.
This is truly the highest duty: when the king protects his subjects. For all beings, protection in accordance with righteousness and supreme compassion are paramount.
Therefore, the knowers of dharma consider that to be the highest dharma when the king, engaged in protection, shows compassion towards all beings.
Whatever evil a king commits in a day by not protecting his subjects out of fear, he attains the consequences of that even after a thousand years.
For every day a king protects his subjects with righteousness and performs meritorious acts, he enjoys the fruit of that action in heaven for ten thousand years.
One who has performed proper sacrifices, is well-studied, and has practiced good austerities conquers as many worlds as there are; by protecting his subjects with righteousness, he attains those worlds in a moment.
O son of Kunti, thus protecting duty with effort, you will enjoy the fruit of merit here, having obtained it without bondage.
O Pāṇḍava, you will attain great prosperity in the heavenly world. Such dharmas are impossible among kings. Therefore, only a king, and no one else, can obtain such great rewards.
Having attained a prosperous kingdom, he protected it with righteousness, satisfied Indra with Soma, and fulfilled the desires of his friends and people.
