राज्ञो हि परमो धर्म: स्वधर्मस्थानुपालनम् । शासतोऽन्यान् यथाशास्त्रमनापद्युत्पथानिह ॥ १६ ॥
rajno hi paramo dharmah sva-dharma-sthanupalanam sasato ’nyan yatha-sastram anapady utpathan iha
- rajnah
- of the king or the executive head
- hi
- certainly
- paramah
- supreme
- dharmah
- occupational duty
- sva-dharma-stha
- one who is faithful to his prescribed duty
- anupalanam
- giving protection always
- sasatah
- while ruling
- anyan
- others
- yatha
- according to
- sastram
- rulings of scriptures
- anapadi
- without danger
- utpathan
- persons going astray
- iha
- as a matter of fact.
The supreme duty of the ruling king is to give all protection to law-abiding persons and to chastise those who stray from the ordinances of the scriptures in ordinary times, when there is no emergency.