01296nam a22001457a 4500 531207 531207 250801b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d Bansal, Neena 55913 Rajdharma in the Mahabharata Indian Journal of Public Administration 71(2), Jun, 2025: p.313-327 This article delves into the principles of Rajdharma as conceptualised in the text of the Mahabharata. It underscores the idea that the ‘state’ in ancient India was fundamentally normative as it was expected to promote dharma, in which the principles of justice and public good were inherent. Drawing out the codes of ethical governance, the article seeks to feature the relevant principles that offer a culturally rooted model of good governance in ancient times. The document closely studies the primary text to extract the relevant shlokas to highlight the key principles of Rajdharma. The relevant Sanskrit shlokas are cited with their numbers in the related sections with English translations italicised for the readers' convenience. • https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00195561251343935 Dharma, Rajdharma, Shanti Parva, Mahabharata, State in ancient India. 55914 Indian Journal of Public Administration AR 0 0 ddc 0 0 406404 IIPA IIPA 2025-08-01 71(2), Jun, 2025: p.313-327 AR.136916 2025-08-01 AR 0 0 ddc 0 0 406405 IIPA IIPA 2025-08-01 71(2), Jun, 2025: p.313-327 AR136916 2025-08-01 AR