स्वस्ति प्रजाभ्यः (svasti prajAbhya) - For the Welfare of the People

 I have always been intrigued by mangala shlokas, or the closing verses of a ceremony for wishing welfare and / or benediction. These are plentiful in the corpus of Sanskrit, and interestingly, most of them are for wishing welfare for the world at large, not just a particular individual.


Below is the first part of one of the most common such verses, used at the closure of almost any kind of auspicious event.

स्वस्ति प्रजाभ्यः परिपालयन्ताम् 
(svasti prajAbhyaḥ paripAlayantAm)
न्यायेन मार्गेण महीं महीशाः । 
(nyAyEna mArgENa mahIm mahIshAh)

"May the rulers protect & nourish the earth, for the welfare of the people, through the path of justice".

Who ever said this first (and unfortunately, the antecedents of this shloka are lost to us today), felt it necessary to:
  • direct the rulers (the verb case used is imperative),
  • specify protecting & nourishing the world not for themselves, but for the welfare of the people,
  • specify that this needs to be done through the path of justice.
Sage & timeless advice... more relevant that ever today. Time to take this from being a ritually-recited verse to a guiding principle of governance.

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